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l>.I)ARTMOOR 




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.1 FAITHFUL NARRATIVE 



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^ or THA 









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:A'8liltt€H OF THE TRElTMfiNW OF JPRI&ONISIJS* 



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^ THE LATE WAH^t^i^" 



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"»: J»-... 

BY THE BRITISH WEttKMfilriV •^:-,^'^;rc1 ^. 

BY JAMES ADAMS. 

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■ „ ( 1 . 1 , I. .. M I ...... —.f..:. ... , , ,«. < >^ 

PITTSBURGH: 
}»f inlc<l 1*1/ Sr Engles, lAherty^ Strut- 

1816, 






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Tnirict of Pcmiijihania, to xuU ': 

4 •*+<-• •>»••>£ i^R IT REMEMBEixED, That on tliG Th'irly.lirst 
i I Q j; 'V'.y of J.inu'.ry, in the Forlicth year of the Inilepcn- 
r * ^ t «':ct)C(: nfthe United States of Amcilcn, A, D. 3816, 
iMi^y' 't-^'r .Iamcs Adams, of the said ilistrict, hath deposited 
1 this nllicL- tl»e Title of a book, the right whereof he claims as aa- 
lor. in tho words following, to wit : 

•arlmmr Prison : or, a faithful Narrative of the Massacre of Ameri- 
can Seamen. To which is added, a sketch of tlie treulmenl of 
Pnsnr.crE, during the late war, by the British government. By 
Jamf.3 Adams. 

1 cnnformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, enti- 
.'• An '\ct for the encouraj^cmcnt of Learning, by securing the 
>j of Maps, Ciurts, and Books, to the avithors and proprietors of 
fch copies, durlngthe times therein mentioned "—And also to the act, 
ititlcd, •* An Act supplementary to An Act, entitled, *' An Act for the 
Jcouragcment of Learning, by securing the copies of Maps, ChartSj 
\d Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the 
ncs therein mentioned," and extending the benefits Uiereof to the 
18 of designing', engraving, ;vnd etching historical and other prints/' 

D CVLDVVELL, 
' -Clerk ofthe District of Pennsylvania. 



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No apology should, perhaps, be thought nc« 
ccssary for the publication of a narrative so 
\ nearly connected with American fcclinu; ; but there 
■ are a class of men in our ccjuntry, cnjo} inp; all the 
benefits which flow from its customs and its laws, 
''il^ who are as interested that the enormities of the 
'>^ British government should be buried in oblivion^ 
as thty are anxiousthat they should escape punisli- 
. ment. Wc meet these men with a demand of tlicir 
reasons ; and hold to the principle, that although 
injuries may be forgiven, they -are not to be for- 
gotten— The scar remains, though the pain m;iy' 
have ceased and the wound be healed. The mLmo-r 
ry of the deed should make us cautious of future 
danger and suspicious ^f the actor. • 

We hqoe riot, while Britain is Ilu rassed by X\\C^ 

recollection of our cmani'M^*!^^'^'^ from her ciiiim'^;. 

' to be freed from the machinations of her poll'jy; 

or the infliction of her vengeance^ whenever eir- 

ctimstances sliall aflurd the opportunity. And wC' 



1 4> 5 ».*■'■ 



/ 







Rope Uiat her ].oindiousness, her pro{]}p;acy, her. j 
avurlcc, her bavbariticB, V'V/ichnre recor'^ed tn ciia- .^^ \ 
ractcrs of blood ia cvt-rv •'iiuortcr o^ J;c^?rlobe»' ^ 
may teach the Amc^'iciv- people to beu'are ijer powo *■ . ■ ^ 

'.cr and avoid her crimes. ; » -V • ^ '• • ■ • ( 

>i ' • . ■' ■• ' •- .. -^^ , . . I 

As a nation, the Americans should be tpntiaH'-^-V'>M 
distinguished from the empires of the old \rorld. 1! '• - ; 
Abounding h\ those quah'fleations whieh command ji'Xv;: 
the admiraticn of mankind, independent, cntcrpri^ «■• 1; 
'Sing, brave and healthy, its policy should be wise, '^j^'r, 
just, ninr^nanjmous. Firm in the possession of a-..;;^ fi 
power which might stand against a world, weW:;<u 
should dare to be ourselves, and appal the shuf- , > fvilf 
fling diplomacy of courts, liy the energy of our .^ /■; 
measures, as well as attempt to conciliate by th&^^A fv^i 
•canity of our demands. . • . . r*-¥V 

What nation, not lost to the emotions of shame^'', S^'- 
can bear the stigma of deeds which disgust gene- 
rosity, and is abhorrent to humanity ? Alas I Iiow 
often has their ambition, or their vengeance, let 
loose its fury in violation of every thing honora- 
ble, every thing sacred, every thing humane^ ; 

V 

The people of the United States have reasoo . 
for honest exultation, that while their heroes have ■. 
wielded the thuntlcrs of battle with a skill and force > ; ' 
which prostrated the extravagant hopes of their 
fot s, and astonished the nations, that their conduct 
<-^ tlK)se hostile individuals^ whom the fortune of 



■ I ■ A.-,: ■ ( ■ . ■ 



, .* ■.''.••■l 



;'., .: ■ .- 'I' 

v'm^o thojr hand.'i, has i>(;cn such lb«^t cvcl 
^.^^^'i^^^Vlie ciic'P' oiildfird ^vo cause ll)t*anin];idversi«)il 
/., " rlninlortai men ivdur: recorded nanics shall L 
'' -.'^r lra^'5l^^ittcdv^t^^^ anrroundtd by the h:\lc 

<^i^,,*'^>i-7of glory ; th(^ youthful' patriot, \\ ho shall hcrcaflc 
'^.I^:". read 3'mir stprics, \Chile hrs spirit burns to cniulat 
vi^' '''youflamii> rv'Illshcd a tear of sympathy .over you 
^f^..\, deeds of humanilv* '' *'l::."•^' •' .^ 

•\i^- ■i'V:- . ..■,■.. •• • . . . ■; 

. xwt So tranquil,; so happy, did.thcwar-^Yorn soklic 
';,;v^f>^-:Jond vetc^au' sailor find Captivity amonf; Columbi: 
f<4*^JSSans, that they shrunk froni the idea of rcLurniii^ t< 
IHjfvfvthe sea-girt isle. How strong is the contrast ! IIa\c 
• '.>'v;i .U tender mercies of a British prison cstrani^cd 
"iV^^^/:our unfortunate fellow citizens from the i)o\vciRd 
•v-'^ Ai^ -tics which bound them to their country? No; 
;> 'a?*." their tender recollections, their sanctified aficc-* 
; ,tions, their former days of felicit}^ only rendered 
^^''^^' those ties more resistless by the bitter comparison 
<y of cold melancholy, crowded prisons^ coarse fara 






and insulting oppression, 



i^iV 



The facts which justify these assertions should 
be treasured up; they should descend to after 
^i^ ■ limes, that posterity may have the lessons of expe. 
. f ^ ricnce on the national archives. 

V-:-':" Dartmoor, the English depot for prisoners oi: 
■ . wi^r, and the scene of our talt, is situated fificca 
^;r /luilcs N. IL of Plymouth, and twenty six \V. N, 
\X :.W. of Exeter, the capital in the county of !>:• 

- k S . . 






vonshire. In a cii-cumforencc of several miLcs, the > ' ^\ 
couiUry.Waii uneven, ban^v.-; -..astc, almost without '^ \ 
e.in*ub or plant; a (ew misc:.(b!c thatched cotta(rej^>.^'H 



pnlyadd to ihc drcarinecs of the picturej nature's ' J 
curse seems fixud upon" the spot selected for the. '•^^\ ' 
abode of the unfortunate prisoner^ No cheering ":*^'i-.^l 
nrospect of field or forest meets his eye with mock- '^.>v»- 1 
cry of his woe ; the vista is in unison with his feel- i^^l^^^; 
inj^s,. and he half thanks the chance \;'hlch has ^;^;^' 'i' 
rnrown his durance in the tvildest and most un^-.h-T:^^^^^ '1 
couth pai't of creation. , ^^ ■'^' . " ;.'i'-';.-^i 

The ciiinale, lor nine months in the year, pef-t^-i^ ji 
iiiips ovvinf^- to ihe^levation, which is about ei<rh-J K'" \ 
icen hui.urcd feet above the level of the. sea, isiniV^V^'C..)! 
oiement and uiihealthy. During; the autumn and "^t^\ i 
^vinlcr, almost perpetual clouds ZiWd fo,c^s obscure '^^"^; Ij 
the h.m.ap.d snows and rains aUcrnatcIv, freeze and ■■',.-\h 
drenrh tliC earth. ' ". /- ,". .- ;*^.;.-' \ 



Tl'icdcuot cons?sts of seven prisons, each thrcc';i^:V' 
:'orieshir);h, and calculated to contain fourteen or^^ " 
/ixteen hundred prisoners, who are utidcr tlie cus- ^;v >r 
pdy of an ac^vnt, appointed and' controiiied by tho';,;; . 'y 
rausport board. Two diousand militiiv, and twa"^'--V ^ 
:.om panics of the corps of royal artillery, arc sta- 7 
ioncd here a:i gUc^ds. The prisons, which-arc 
juiit of stone, are surrounded by two concentric ji 

itonc \\ alls, each twenty feet m height. The out- ' | 
:r wall is one mile in circumference, and adjoining v 
t the North Eubt and South points, are erected 



: 



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% gitnrd houses. ' On ihe outside of the inner wall,'' -i 
j5^ ' V/lVich is about thin- .vet from thfe outer, arc rain- 
i^'^";\!.cd\VD\]<ii^ndstniTy^n'i^^Sy for the sentinels. At ^> 
tJM twenty feet ko\v. the iniiet- wall, is a bcmicircle of -"I 
J^:'|''lron palings, inclosing the prisons — There arc 
^M-y three separate yards which conimunicafe with each 
^'tr other by, a passage one hundred and fifty feet long 
^ j^r ancl twenty broad, guarded by iron palings on each 

••'^^^ over which, and in front of No. 4, the centre 

SJ/'^/prison is a walk for sentinels. Opposite this pas- 
v^^'^v> sage, IS the market square ; and passing from it 
^l*^ V into either yard, you go through two iron gates. 
»::;?f'' The first inclosure, on the ttorth, contains three 
vi^!-4;'. prisons, Nos. 1, 2, 5. The second, on the east, 
r^i , one, No. 4. The third, on the south, three, Nos. 
SMi^r'^f G, 7. No. 4 was occupied by the black prison- 
ers, and is separated from the odiers by two stone 
I'^M. walls, each fifteen feet high. Opposite yard No» 
V '1, is the hospUal, nnd opposite yard No. 3, the in- 
'7;^- ner barracks* The other buildings arc quarters 
»/ ^H- for t^' agent, surgeqns^ turnkeys, clerks, Sec. and 

/ in the market square is a stone building for the 

use of the prisoners^ and a public store house. 

I • ■ ' « ' ■ • » • 

■ • ¥■- ••'*■, 

;^K/.; Between, th^ inner wall and iron palings, and 
north of prison No. 1, is the cpndcmiKd prison, a 
r,pLacc of punishment fpi- various oflfcnders. It will 
, 'contain sixty men, who arc ailowcd some straw and 
a blanket ; llicir rations of provisions is consi* 



•Cv 



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3 






1; jlcrabiy reduced,, .iad the only light permlued is kry".^;^ ■'';.^ 

. Ii sm.\ll 11 pert lire .'near iH^ roc i« At the close ofthc " -hi^',, 

late Avar, four men \\'ere in v.onfincmcnw hero for* ' '." 

aiunipiinf^ to blow up ji prize . ..^ ". :...,. ,'-t»<*'^; 






Tiie hisidcof the "pvist)ns''present A melancholy '••^•■"•" 
aspect. Parti: lly covered witli slate, evxTy"^tbi*ni.;:';«*'y!,^ 

I finds Its way thro ui^h, and floods the prisons ^vith .-^i;!^,': ' 
inowandrain. Wiihovitsep.muions or apartments, ^^'''jiii 
fire places, stoves, tables, or benches, rows ofstan- ;■. ■;'^;^ 

'tions for the purpose of sllnjlng hammocks, are the J^X^^ J 
only convenience aflbrded to the establishment.— si^v^j^^j 

,The accommodations^of the hospital are a mockery ;^;ti^^ 

^to the sick ; (cw nursies arc allowed, and so low wa^ ^ic^^^J? 
•jTcs are given them, that good ones never can l>e \<^^g 

; ubU'ined. All indeed that can be Expected from ^^^^'^ 
fSkill and humanit}-^ without means, was afforded ' , )/^ 
by Doctor M^Gratii, the principal surgeon, a .•.| 
man of science and a gentleman— but even hii^pro- ' ]%_ 

Jessional talents yielded to numerous and united,,^. ^.^| 

" causes of disease. Contagion reigned triumphant/' V- 1 
and swept Irom existence three hundred and thirttj^ H 
one of the prisoners confined at Dartmoor, during .;^^/^?P 
the war. See^now the comparison— Of upwards i, ^ 

* of seven thousand prisoners confined in the stM:0^i^ 
of Massachusetts and morethanfour thousand of >>-;;.!/ 
these at one time, only three unwounded men died.! 'j^v?.^ 
The average number confiiicd at I>Qrtmoor (iiii;;tH •;^ 
not exceed four thousand, .'•^^^^i^ V' -- 



y 



.^.-^ V X 



j-.^*j ": • FrOfjng the outer gate, is a rc<;ervoir of watc.', 
^i"Mcjn is brought six m\kc by a canal, and supplies, 
/^^fc^c. different yards.'' ;' ^: ) 



'k:- ".- ..'• 



•'l>,;x'^Thc necessaries 6f tife were very exorbitant at 

:.':y ^i. )artmoor. •' Neither fuel riof oil were allowed by, 

rvi^thb British government'' Coal w;:s from fifty to 



government 



sixty cents a bushel— *eV^en bricks and mortar, 
.-->;ivivhich the prisoners purchased for the erection of 
C:$toves, were at an enormous price. \^ 






i'-'^V Why- Dartmoor shoVild have been chosen, when 
tjlf J' several otherprisons, farjsuperior in point of com^ 
t^vrKfo^table accommodation in the kingdom w^cre un- 
?:>? 'iiOtecii pied, deserves to J)C made known. 

?"!t '•- ' ■ . . ■ . '■ ■ ■ . 

f^Vvj /,' Dartmoor belongs to the Prince of Wales, the 

.' Regent of the British Empire^.;, The favor of for- 

:>^v ; tune, through a game of clir\nci6;^and an increase of 

' ' its revenues; Avas of importance to this hope of liv^ 

r)ation» ' ' . J-f^j" 






* i' 



i^pT^: •. ; ..••'-■■ •*';•:'. 

;vfA'>v During the winter of 1815; whic;h.'v^as unconi. 

■.. * monly severe and inclement, the sulTc^rings of the 

\. half naked, pennyless prisoners^ was extreme, and 

'i.-r^annot well be imagined but by those who have cx- 

^|)^>,perienced similar calamities. Until April, 1313, 

fe^ no relief had been received from the government 

Ij.:; -^^of the United States; at this time a suit of elotlics 

;i|% and a daily alloM^ancc of two pence liulf penny was 

'5 rcppived iipm Mr.<iR^ 0% Beaslcy, the Amcricat^^ 



» ! ' 



■rf^cnt at London^ Small as this pittance was> it ^\y 
was an important addition ^/3 the prison c^r^s limited* >^^ ( 
rmanccs. I ' . ... >"'.'*" ^ 



> •.■■ 



I 



Deplorable as was the siiaation of the unfort-: '^^ . '^ 

nalc men who had fosight for their cor.ntry, it was V'*. 
rendered doubly poignant by the harsh treatmfent*(;;^.';^ 
ihe wanton tyranny of insulting power. • -• : . •■>'-.;' 

The conduct of Thomas George Shortiand^ the >'''v* 
commander of the depot, whose infamy the annals v 
of America will rerder imperishable, was a series v^;»^^,: 
of violence, vexation and barbarity, that deserves ! -^^^i.-^; 
to 
m 
1 

tohiivc been devoted to thedevisinp: means for trie-- ^.v^', 
anno}ancc of the wretched men who had been X-.'y^: 
i)laccd under his iron custody. His treatment o? -jfev^ 



'AH 



• \ 






the American ofiicers was featured with the basest- -^-iiij 
indip;nity and vilest humiliation. One of the pri* ' j' 
sons hid l)ecn prepared for, the separate accom, 
modaiion of those odiccrs whoVcre not consider 
;Cd as entitled to their parole; they were not per 
mitted to occupy it, but turned in promiscuously 'f.:g..; 
with iluir own men. '.•■/. vW)>':/ i* 

: 4 ■■ . * '' ' ■■"' ;;v:- • .?r"^cy 

'I1ic two best prisons, whldh were erected du*' J 
fing their confinement by the Frcitch prisoncfSs'^ 
Avcre shut up unoccupied, while ihc upper stories., 
of those which held the Americans, were inunda.*> 
''I tcA b)\ every storm of rainV ^ 



4-.'^ 



■ei^^a»«^i*^ 



i*jUa6M<»*»-fc^i»''*'*^" * ■•'•'^ — -*T. j«.r".-^ ^^^^^ • 4T 












§i/ 1^ \ iie deliberately murderous ' disposition oir 
^;.''*bhoH!and tannot be better eincidntcd, than by the i 
>^;>fact\of^ his. ordering hi? guprd, whenever a light 
•;^^ "Biioiifd be discovered bnuiing at night, to fire into 
,*fy^V; • prisons?^ th3 frenchmen were confined 1 

1^- herd, a turnkey, accompanied by a sentinel, wasac*' 
\j{rcustbnica to go into each prison and have the 
h'vlights extinguished at a certain hour ; and if they 
-'^r5 "^vere lighted again, which often occurred, the pri- 
i-;' goners were not mtjlested. The Amert^ans found 
?j.':\:ii9 such' lenity; the striking a light was the signal 
^^ vv for Shorlland's orders tOc'/fii'e^," and seldom was; 
:v that order disobeyed* ' 






;-f'!g^*>' Frequently \verctht prisoners, for ten dtiys to- 
, }1?-; gether, prohibited from purchasing at the market, 
"*Vv^, such arficles of comfort or convenience as their ^ 
'<;.> scanty funds afforded the mean's* His excuses for" 
j.^'. ihfese acts of tyranny, could never be other than 
>--7 the most trivial and fallacious. At one time, he al- 
^;\^ ledged as a reason tlwt the prisoners Would not dc. 
'''■\ liver up to him a man who had been confined in 
';;w the condemned prison ; this man was one of the 
-. prize crew already mentioned, and had been sen- ., 
i5v^ tenced to imprisonment therefrom June 1814, to 
j^^^tV the. close of the war. He had escaped from his 
^Jc' dungeon^ and found refuge among his count ry - 
f^^ men prisoners; .They .-answered to Shortland's dc- . 
• Vjnand,f that' it could hot ibe expected they should 
i^tJind d3 sentinds over each othctj tliat he might; 

■ • • . - , - -4 . . . • ^ • 



• •-J. 



tt^nil Tii3 turnkeys and soldiers, but they sliduld v..^ 
not sccktodcliverliimup. On this answer, Short* * '- 
land ordered his soldiers to nre upon thcm~The*/W 
firm humanity of the ofBcer who comrtianded/ "!* '/ 
restrained tiicm from obeying die order. v^t^^ 






^ : i ■•• -f .» ; 



In dct;\ilincL- the transactions at Dartmoor, im.'^'. ' 
parlialiiy requires, nnd justice demands, that we ' \^ 
should not pass over the fact, that at the close of--;- 
ll)c war, out of five thousand six hundred Ameri. '■' 
can prisoners at Dartmoor, upwards of.twothou* \v§ ' 
sand were American seamen, who had been im-^^ '^^^^^^ 

^, pressed and had refused to fight against their couri^i^vj^^^^^^^ 
'irv, and were therefore confined at Dartmoor as- -*- 
prisoners of war. Men whose blood and toil had . / 
been lavished to nourish the laurels of the haughty j*,-.^ 

[ Albion, and many of whom had grown grey in nii ..'>^^^^^ 
oj)pressive service, without their prize money-p !'H v^r 
w ilhout their pay, which in many instances had been * ,r • 
6uc for years, were im^nurcd as prisoners of-warj 
for what ! for rcfusmg to raise tlic bayonet to their 
. country's bosom ! gratitude, at least common jus- 
tice, would demand that they should have been 
paid off, paroled and sent home ; but justice and - 
f/ratitudc hive seldom a place in the political code ; . 
of nations J ambition, avarice and vengeance hold V;;*^# 
the first page, and diey seldom progress farther .'7 / 
in tke volume. On application being made to the hv' J 
proper departments for a recognition of their rights, , • > •; 

. the ;mswcrs werci "bur abstracts or ceriificater) ; , 



A •<• .- 



4 < 







* have been mislaid or lost/^ and *'\vhcu you pro- 
[:7 -duca^aiislactory evidence of the place of your 
N^/I^iiativity, you shall be discharged. *N Alas ! such 
IK cvldencie was Impossible ; the common voucher 
>Kr'-X)i citizenship was treated as a frauds, and other ; 
^"{.testimony, however it might convince reason^ , 
Vjr itould never satisfy interest* * 

'VcS'^Wc mean not to enter xnto'a discussion of the 
fS- 'Claim to the abstract right of impressment. The 
Iv^i^vsubjeGt'has drawn forth the first talents of the na- 
^;?- tJoUr The fact is stated in confutation of those 
:\s .imen who have, in dereliction of truth and princi- 

• ;i ? P'^> presumed to assert that ** very few American 
i^ .i citizens had been impressed/' It is stated to show 
iii:;^ the extent and nature of the degradation which 
;^^^^. the nation had so long submitted to, ^re she re- 
^^ solved to resort to the final appeal, the ^^ uUimo ' 
ji^; ?atio regumy That the principle is as unfounded , 
^;y m maritime law, as the practice is associated with ^ 
p;! J?Kihe most crying injustice, is well established by ;. 

the decision of courts, even British admiralty ;. 
Courts.* -h •'.::■'/.: ,. ■ .:\\ ■':•-■'■ . '^'3 



'"*''<*■■ **' *' ■I II ■ ■! ■ I I » I 11 I il I 

•i . • *■ . • 



*-^ ^TUe following Cdse, decided by Sir ^William '., 

Ve>^T; Scott, is ciirfectly in point. , ' . / : 

/|a:;: The'i^^^^ /th, 18or. This , 

'i''''i'>'^^. ^^^ ^^*^ o? * French w hale-ship, taken on hcrvoj-- : 

• ^* ngc t<^ the southern whale fishery, antf back to L*OrUnt[ [ 

The master claimed irpccific shares of the cargo* as the* *' 






r> -, . /' 



14 



.v^ : ." • .■■^■ 



I'hc delay v.Iiich bccliiTcd in pfovidittg tranaV*^ . • 
portation for^.tlic American prisoners, has been ^''• 
productive of a large sliarc of blame to Mh Beas* . V: ■' \ 
ky, the American agent. There is too mucllrea-^;^^ - .a 
son to believe that it was in some degree merit-: .. . 1 
cd; certain it is, that Mr, Beaslcy had a very lim-- /' * . 
ited communication with his fellow citizens at-' -^ - r 
Dartmoor. lie treated with the most' pointed ne- i/" t 
glcctj the communications of the pribX)nf?rs rela<* *'^; .'* •' 
tive to llic hardships of their situationi. A week .•: .;i; '. 
elapsed ere he informed them of the treaty's being ^*V^[^ 
tcturned ratified, and upwards of a month bcfb^c^;'J^i 
transports were provided for their convevancc to* >.v v^" 
the United States. These facts, and the general ..i;^; 
impression that Mr. Bcasley ivas rather neglectful- -^^^ 
• of his duty, has given rise to tho suspicipn.ofapar '^^'V' 



^v;^ 



•—^..1 :•"■■&* 






propcty of himself, the officers and creit of, IsU vessel^ ^. 4 
■ asserttd subjects of America . * ' ". -,: •^ . ;~ -• \v tV?-- 

7'Ae A'tr/^^ advocate contended j That the character of ,.: , ;, 
the master ami manners were io betaken from that of 'V;l*"- 
the subject. Contra'^LarOrente cited the cdaes of the . 
Jafircy and the Industry ^in the last war (in which the • 
master's adventure had been restored) o/zcf contended^ J^ 
That as the claimants had cngagfed in this trade only w*- V' 
in time of peace, it was reasonable that, thfef should be ; !- ^ . 
allowed some time to withdraw themselves and thcit^;',^*' ■'} 
property, without being bound inatanfer to ail the disa* C f \. 
tfiiities of a French character^ for ^ mere temporary {V -^^ 
scrtice on board a Ftenck ship. Jiidgfncnt Sir W. Scott» ■ f 

*»I have no hesitation in pronouncing that these per* 
. dons cannot bo admitted t^ claim« They are to be cg^ 



■\ /v 



-Si. 



V 



^Jvy to th^ sufTcrings of his colintfyi'ncn. It h 
^;« hoped,' for the honor of huvxian nature, ihnt these 

fl.filCll( 




:.jJof British crudty) during the laic war, now dc*;» 



^'nianda attention;- .^ .... -o .: 



. «<:'^ 



:{;:\'^ The sixtH of April, 1815,'wiji bi.* conspicuouij 
^^.orith^ gnnalled page, for the pcrpeiratioil ofhor- 
^ rors wliich have been rarely paralleled, ercnin ihc 
i)Vhistories of the most uncivilised and savaore na- 
^jvtions; On this day, at six o'clock,?. M. whikt , 
^V*niorethan five thousai^d Americans, prisoners of 
i^ y^', we re walking, unconscious of ihc approach. 

Uj;>i(lcrcd as mariners and this proportion of the pro- 
J%;;cccd8 of the voyage, as their waj;es. Then can a claim 
i:';:'&e sustained for wages on board, ari enemy's shi^ ? h\ 

^ 4hc cases cited, the ships vrtre rfaUrj or ottensibiy Amn'^ 
.. ,4cafi ships, which might entitle the persons serving in 
p'.lhcmih that character, to a different consideration. The ' 
present vessel is avowedly a French ship, and these per- 
^,^.:sons must be taken t(5 be French sailors. There is ir^- ' 
5^; deed less reason for any relaxation of the general prin- 
;^;Ciplc in this branch of navigation, than iq any others • ' 
ir^^'^bccause the ratio of wage* Is a material part of the trado ' 
/,(iitsctf, being the ordinary mode prcarrying oft that par- 
^.:j.iciiiar species of commerce'* 'z^. ; 

'... What IS the principle of decision here laid do>Vn ? 
;v^why that the character of the ship is to, be taken as in*!« 
;^i <ricatiy>,QF that bf |th^'^miMnert. Shall the BrlUsh go- , 
^'^rvcfnm^frit then be |iirtnlu«cS W bloir liotimd cold \rhh * 



* 



' ' W *^- '^''""' "li ini ammJitmiitmitiUi^ 



^ X tV • ••' H- '^■ 

iij/j; Craj^cd}', quietly in the yards of their respective ^-'^ 
prisons, at Djitnioorj suddenly the alarm bell |Vv^" 
riiniT, the drum beat to arms ; tlic curioas muUi*?;;^^^ 
tudc pressed towards the gate of the prison, tcJ. * * 
learn the criisc of alarm. From ihe prc-ssure of ^^. .. 
(l.e crowd, the gale gave way ; the momeptuni cfjy^^^ 
|hose in the rear forced the foremost .through tlid^'-^;. 
passage. \V])at met their astonished sight ^ C 'pt/'- .* 
Thomas George Short land, at ihc Iicrd'C" ilr*^ -Vl 
troops of llie garrison, formed in balllcarriy, cn-'V- *^ 
ters the market square. The destined Vietimjf »;^Vv:: 
were not yet suspicious that they were the objects • » -^"'^ 
■ of this extraordinary military marceuvre. Iva^H^^ 
.mediately however they perceived that their safe- v.>^; 
ty was menaced, and began to retire towards *f'^'-:^ 
their several prisons^ At this moment the order ;@^ 
** chargc^^ was given by Shorlland^ and repeated v ^^;^ 
by the officers ; and the prisoners, to the iiumber. fv 
ofi perhaps, one hundred and fifty, who were col- > jl^ 
lected in the square, were drove through the gates f 
into their prison yard s<» " /7rc>*^ says Shortland- '"r 
•»— The soldiers hesitated; the commanding of- / 
*' ficer of the corps gave up his command. Short- -i^^^vi 
land now seized a musket from the hands of a f \?; 
soldier, which was immediately fired, and sue- 'v^^'< 
Qceded by a volley of musketry, discharged up<..;jA^r 
on the maimed fueritive multitude.' The' voUics:.te 
were repeated in every direction upon the flying ' ,. 
crowds. The dead and wounded fell thick ; the? - ' ^ 
entrances to the prisons were clogged by the fal- 






.1 hiruiii' ^iiwiirnift^og'tr.'^^'**^-' -^-— -— :-., 






V 



>»., 



V 






H^■•:* 









I 

i • i,iW-. ;lerij,di^dtl\c desperate movements orthe unwound- \ 
,V.v;jVed, Who were flying ovcrlhcm. 'i'he infuriated 
'*^^ A jr soldiery now rushed Into the prii^on yards, and 
^^ \ imadc a general charge' of the bayonet upon man/ 
;;;^^^^4ind boy. The general catnage ceased with anothr 
^^^;^cr discharge of muskctryl But the spirit of ven- 
ippeancc u\as not satiated 5 the sanj^uinnry soldiers 
J^^ ; jv'^rdl^d the yards, ni quest of the few who re- 
.fr'*\^,.^^tiaiiuvii\vithout the prisons. These, bunted liki? 
ii'\ /'^vild beasts, were deHbcratelv murdered while im* 
:fe^/f ploring in the name of heaven to spare ihcif lives', . 
^^^;'^pnc unfortunate and afiVighted wretch had crouch- 
" H"".ed close to the wall of one of the prisons, in hope.^ 
^V':j:-;;^hi being passed over during the tumult. In vain T 



-. ..^. - - f3 




fryv :'tlien\ to spafc an existence that had been almost, 
twi ? V' '^^^'^^'^^^^ by suffering, but which now had some 
h t" '4 Value from die hope of a speedy deliverance frora 
Kjr^^:^ captivity. Heappealed to hearts Void of humanity; 
* j^'C"^^ tyger's rage rioted in their bosoms ; the dc- 
t\:^ff^ moniac Shordand cried ^'JTf*^^** and he fell, pierc- 
i;^'''cd with. bullets- ^ , ^^ ' :v ^ , 

,|v1iJj>/;?:A boy^lburtceri years of age, was pursued by. 
^,H;X^-6nc;oTiheofiiccrs,~and run through the body with 






v>^;i;i'^^ tTo the cfy bf mercy, the infernal an- 

kif -swerv **yo\r damned yankce\ rascals, you shall 

;>. * Imvc^no^arier?/^ wasreturuedf;^^;*^l^» ^^ 



MaM«Mtete(k,MM*Maa 



J 



^' 



i« : .-■ .■■^: 






.Srvcral ^hot tvcfc fired into the ptlsbiTs uv' • i-* 
u-hich two men were killed and others woundedr^V,-\ 



'^*-iil 



Tlic heroic Shortland; having finished the migh^ jV^*^- 1 
Sy net, drew off liis troopsAThe blooctqfsixt/^'v^^^.Ji 
Tiicvcn American prisoners of waT^dl^tuhicJd.thd.'.y'y-fJ^ 
'••jtcnc, and his malice was satiated, /Seven of the .■■■ , f^ 
t)risoncr3 were killed, thirty sevc-relr diid ^thirt5^r-* "^V 
oli>j.htlv ucundcd. • . ^^i^^^;■\•^.' . .^■'-•^^ t 

The wounded were removed, as soon as prac*;^"!""/;* (. 

4tic;bk, to the hospital, under die care of Doc*;;.,*^:V'- 

* ■• • ' .'-• ".■7'' >'. • ■"'••1 

TOR IM'Gratii, who made every exertion tb V: ?/>.?:. 

•■ * ■ -*•■''>'■* J] 

alleviate their pains, and restore them to healthV- *;]♦$■ J' 

lie even sought in the prisons for those woutid*v:;^i;;*- •*!] 

cd wlio h.ad fled thither, before the doors wer$ !'* i-j^-^ii 

' closed. While gratitude shall continue to be an;' ;-y'^<c;v 

. ifnniate of die human breast, the Americans ivill >}r:Vv| 



« ^ f;>t.. 



not forget the tender humanity of the liead sur-^ir^'V^; 
fjcon of Dartmoor Prison* ., : . "v,^':r!;i 



,/?v:<i 



^'r.-r^^» 



The admiral and military commandant were 
i informed widiout delay, by despatch to Plymouth, 
»■ of the fatal event which had just transpired. :.': ^^(j^' 

The next mornhig colonel Ayre, with a strong. '': ]//'; 

reinforcement arrived, and took comniand of the ^:v'/ -i \ 

'garrison. Of this the pri^ners were forthwith :'^<'! 

' Informed by Shortland* who requested that a comi^ |i i:/Y 

I iniuee, whom ibcy had appointecl/wauld attend > ;^/| 

*at his ofTicc to receive iin explanation of tl>c trafts^ '^''^:''^ \ 



•l*/fiction* of the preceding evening. Indignant at the 
H-insull, aind stnaf ting with the recent unparalleled 
■Is ijutfage iind slaughter, they Unanimdusly answer- 
f'.fed, tiiat as citizens of ihe United States, the}' 4 

^•t i considerccj it disc^raccful to hold communicatioa ) « 

^••'' .'..■.>.■ -' ■ •'' , i. 

" with the mtirdercr of their countrymen. But ad- . 
, ded, if the commanding oflicer from Plymouth*] 
X(coI. Ayre) desired a conference, they tvould wait 
*r p5'lun>, with pleasure, ai>d give him^ the most sa- ■. 
^vtif^factofy explanation of their entire .<^onduct» 

'MJC'J^t, the request of the commandant, they went ■ T; 
;f^' lip to the gate, andstated Jo him thd particulars 
'Ur^i the affair* He expressed extreme regret for tlic ^ 
V 'occurrence, assured the prisoners that fa:thcr vi- 
olence should not be attempted, and promised that 
JT^ a coroner^s inquest should proceed immediately 
JjVtO investigate every materia! circumstance, and 
4ld6cide thereon, the next day, Shortland accom- 
1|^ panied the commandant, and with the gloomy and 
. haggard aspect of Conscious guilt, faintly attempt- 
g cd to excuse the enormity of his conduct ; he- ' 
;|^ pleaded his duty ; he feared that tlie prisoner^ ^ V 
^^? were about attempting to escape! A small hole^ 
fe >hich had been picked by, 6omc boy s as an cm- ^ 
|i ploymchtpt^^ferable to idleness, through one of 
J\theinnci;'Wklfs*of the^l^^ the prc\ 

;:& tcit^lOT tlieidaiberat^i^^ Where did this 

^ hole lead tc^r^k Mic^or^stape? No.* Into Ac 



i.v' 



A. <•' 20 






quarters of the soldier?i, where ohc lb6tisnnd firui?>;.' ' ' 

c(l n"icn were ' stationed as guards. Ihdecd what . 

motive could urge them to atlcmpt 'an essape? \j:..' : 

^ 'i'lic clouds of war lind bctn succeeded by ihe.V'' Y- 

(. jiUUbhine cjf peace ; they were in daily cf;pcctati6a^ ;. '. 

, of irarispoits arriving to convey them io theil^ nh"' *PSJ 

live or iid opted land," wiU)out monc3% /hholtt ^'[>5 

^.clothc!;, wiiiiout friends. What could have-ljccn > v^;*i 

/,. thcif hopes of quilting their prison— -xvl^a-'nleir;!^:^^:" 

expectations but miscr}v and starvation ? ,. y, - 



r'-.-^ys- 






■■■ ■ ■ }.? » 

*1^ 



The ordinary sense of mankind will teach iheni ■;;':-''^;' 
to appreciate this slimsy subterfuge j a weightier />!'?:: 
ciuisc lies under this miserable tale. Had the gd^ed "^"^'0^ 
of the prison been opened, a Very few out.of tlie ^^^y^ 
thousaiuls connned there would have taken advan» ' "' '' 






tagc of the libcfty. The reason is obvious ; they j'^i 
were very soon to be transported home free of eX* 'vll^; 
pcnse. No! the prisoners were not attempting to ;'^vH!*! 

cscaix; ; captain Shortland himself did not bdiev6 -/lif^ftl 

. ".*'■■' •^- ^-'t,I 

it : but capt. Shortland had learnt that his con- ':;;4'^i 
* ' ' •'■■.'■~p--.- ■ 

duct had been censured by tlie officers of the gar* 'v'.r^S 
•• risen, for his attempting to impose a diminished ''.^/"^f^- 
allowance of hard bread, instead of the full allow- "7 " 
ffuce of soft bread, which the prisoners refused to lii'/^'- 
actept: and he, was determined to be, rcvencjed* i/ •" 
The hole in the wall was suificient-rhi^ genius,; f. 'r'^'' 
fertile in malicious expedient, eagerly seized lhe;;.j**^' 
pretext, and converted it into aii engine rfmur«f i'Vi 






^^ 



I 



'/^'^ „ ■ ■■ • .,.• 21 V j 

#"^.*'' After ihc'comm.'uicJant had retired, Uic prison* 
iiWj^rs hoisted the colours half wast on every prison.,^ 
^|v:-.;>:ilie/ Woundfc in the- hospital . were visited.— • 
V<^ '1 What a scene for humanity I Let imagination sug* 
''^^^'''^^st; for imagination tan hardly picture the feci, j 
^ -T ing» of tbc survivor^ cf this t^agedy« 

;;<;;•- "^-jA com raittce Was then appointed to receive ihe^; 
v-T; depositions of those, who were most fully acquaint*. ^ 
*Vvtt(? Aith: tlie circumstances attending this affnir,. 

.%v*?^V In'thc afternoon a rear admiral and post cap*- 
♦^SK tain, Sent by Sir J. T. Duckworth, arrived frorr\ 
n"^^ iply mouth, to enquire intoUhe transaction. To 
^i^:;- them were stated all the facts connected with the 
-;;.■' business, as well ds a general detail of Shortland'$ . 

entirely infamous conduct. They kft ihe com- 
ff^v mittee with fair assurntices'that an imparlinl in- 
||:^|;';vestigation should be had. How deceptive! in. 
'stead of the candid, impartial report, it misreprc- 
^-"^.Sented every circumstance, even the feelings of . 
.>*(. the prisoners, as indicated by their assertions.;* 
fc *'^* That there Jiad been a riot 5^^ that ** the rioters ■ 
.y '; ° had endeavoured tQ ovcrpowef the guard, to force * 
*:Vv.t^e prison^ had actually seized .some of the sol- % 
: -rV dier^s afinsV^rtd rhade a breacliih the walls of die 

T,;^ prisons^' that "the prisoners could mnkc no ex.. 

"v ;; ; cusc but their impatience to * Ij^ released— that ' 
V,w.,ihey only blamed thcirjown government fqr thctr 
.% '; delay.*; ::^/i^-i:i:<:(i';iyi^^^^ 



.-**^ 



\ 



Aniid iiiii> tissue of murder and perfidy, it ^ '" ' '^''^ f: 
not be impro])(,'r to record one act. whose hirv ^^'hy' 
* should be identified with time, and be for/ '^/ '. ' '- 
only amid the chaos of tlie physical aii<)^it'.\S^^^ 



: world. The soul 
"disfrust over the horrors 



.y.\\ ..•>•;• •- . ♦/ 



which passed with U^yS:^--^^-. l\ 
orrors of massacre, di; *.» .^ -;; C "^ frjr./i. 
. canerv of falsehood, repQse^ ^yitU:.de^/'^ • ' ■' feii 
". Contcm])!«uion of generous dcctts/ OaioT^^^.' i v' • >' 
.. diers of the regiment which perpetrated the worlr^ ' ^ * 



-» ■♦•» •••■• ' 



• of blood, was lighting a lamp at the. door hX NO'^^iAV-r 

.3 prison, when the carnage begaiv\He was forced rTi:-; 

by the retreating crowd inside, among the ixas-'^^V^fe^: 

. pc rated prisoners. The spirlt;6f vengeance for :^ %iv;j^^ii; 

moment was directed . to this siagle enem)^. Ic ;vV-;iI,; 

Hvas only for a moment.-'Tlie pre-eiiiinence o£ '^^S 

^ ihe American cl^aracter triumphed over ^ic .;; >^^^^^ 

thought of so mean a retaliation — To the astpn- ,.>;§itA 

osliment of the afTrighted soldier, whooc terrors ' • '| 

had already consigned him as a sacrifice to the- ' '"'Jl 

manes of our, butchered countrymen, be was as-^ii^vS.' fe 

; bured of safe protection. ** Americans never mur*. -v V; il 



dcr their prisonjers j rest easy, your life shall be. '^V^f 
preserved to distinguish between the humanity- :-j . 
of a British soldier, and that of an American sai*"* ''^'^'. 
- lor!" Accordingly, he. wUs delivered Jup^'\the(> .;^:-f •, 
the doors were 'opened to* discharge thc-u^undcdi.v;,' -|' -< 
4 uninjured, to his asionished cOmrlides. ' v' «.« . ^.':^h. \ 

., J ' ' Tlie coroner's inquest commenced their cxhm*»*^v,v|j>^ 
.inaiion on the eighth,* artd tookthc depositioiisof v|v ' 



*, r. • , 1'. ' ' - ^*' v4 iA • ■*? : 






fj^. 



< ' '• .:•»".■. V •" 



■^;\'vittie several testimony on thcpnrfol 

^vli the. keeper of the ptison consisted of the very' 
^J*- febldiers who committed the mlifdcts by his or* 




^'^ii^^^^'tiore thanthreeibiirtbs k^ tl)o$e''c6nfintd in the i 
' n ;^»p^^qrd \yhe^e k t^as made, antj no person belonging 
:4^UV 40 tJos. 'IV 2j 5 or'^4, knc\V that^such a ihinjj CX!»«, 

*■'> e- ^'. -*SieU« , • • ,/^^yl y ' - :,• . ; ' ' • : - v .^.^.•_ , _ ,„ _. . . . 



' ?l^5 V " That ho kind of combinatidn for the plirposc 



><|^^i^X 'fcf escapi^ hdd ever eicisted, or eytn been thought 
t^' ■ ^ bfi and nbthins: had evcif. been said or donts di- 
'i^ rjitectly orindiretitly,t6 givecolortb sucha charge ^ 
' •"{ v^v pr suspitionr * 









^;: iW^ ^* Thai cunpSity alonfetirgcd Iherii to' the gate^ 
/• ^iftd (hat this cUriosity \V^s t'Xdtbd' by the rinGl--! 
■^■■^ inpj of the alahn b^ll/V^ v^ , ;.. - ./'^ .. i 

-;t:^ r^v<« T^Hrfialu^idcK ferikhfe tjafe \vas broken by a 
j V I. ^inan ill ablate bfintokicatidn^ and Without the 
I ft''''inbwleidB:^of th^btisorjersi^^ tv '•/';* 

|%::v|»^^^T^^ few;' prisoners ivfib ivere forced^ 

I Ji JUhroUgh the g^l^/<ouJd inot Vfti^t the pressure? ef 






timmm 



uhc crowd behind, who were pressing for^vard to ■ '' ] 
^ learn the cause of the alarnir" 



-*/' V 



"V .. '\^:.<* •■<^:.'- 



" Tiiat no violence was offered by the prison- /^p^^^^ 







iptain Shordand took splc charge 

V the troops, and Was heard io <irder theni:'td-..v.-: v ! f 
• •«• fire " - '• ■^^^^: - - Ui'^:- -r: ' '-^- V-;^^^ ' ' 

, '•' <■■ .>"4; ;-. •, ■ ^>, ,:'^c'U' 

■ ' ** That the prisoners, il tiring the tim^^^wcrc '^A;^.^ \ 
;! tanning before the soldiers to gain the insidebP .;|J^^!; 1 
rttlie prison,'* • ,'-^"*': .;;:.. ;^"^ * vk ^" ,^ '; t-v^-^^/c^^ :, 

"That the soldiers followed up the IcW iast,;}%^ < 

prisoners, and shof theifi as they were entering .^^K^^^ 



the door." > - '^'r;?: • • Vv^-;^^ -'y- v;..:^ #^^ , 

■ ..... J ■ ' ' ■rc>:^AT- 

•• That two men were : actually killed inside vi-t 
'the prison." t ; ■■". ■ .*';' • .\ .^:. ;;.'.::. ■,;.:'n:j;^-;:';5^^i 



«» 






** That some few^ who were unable to reach .':4.^' 
the inside of the prison, were deliberately aimed '] ;J; 
at and shot by the soldiers from, the j^mparts.** a;^^-;|' 



**That a subaltern officer "was seen to bb as- '" ^"" 
fisting in killing a. boy not more^ than {sjJ( teen ^^^ '\ 
ycarsold." v*-?, .'i-^' ■.;*<>.* \^i ■.v^^'^^^i:)^ r r?i /;r;rv*-''A-'^/ 



'' •/ That Q prisoner applied to Captani Shortlan4 .? ;, I 
in slop the horrid massacre, and wag wttswcrpd,* >v? <- \ 

i 



^Ittum you damned €as(^«V..v^^'fr^->;i};7^i^j;iv(f^ 
s- *> % ■■■; :... .-^ 



'I'l:^: 



> 



•J ■ •«., f;-; * ' - . . ■^'- •, -I - 

fvfe '"^*'^' And Irstly, Uiat a circtinistiiftce j>rcccdcd the 
'^^^.y^f^iffair^'-uh^^ for conjecture, but 

®^*>x:afri^s conviclion at once to the mind, that the 
^t i; ' M^li6le'\vas a tboliMiVc^rneditattd i deliberate nuir- } 
^ir-'ir ckr f--«-Lach prison ^contained four doors, which •* 
[;*,.;'' ^vere al>vays kept'OpjSn until the sound of a horn •' 
llvl^.r^'^arhed the prisoners to retire for the night, after 
;^;i* ' which the <ioors were clo^d. But on this even- 
LiK'^iJ: ihp:, "o hoi^n had sounded— the prisoners were ^ 
Sv:^V:v :V'^^^"^S in^the yards pf their prisons and yet the 
^^h'^T^l^^yfi had been in and locked the doorsof each^ 
l^^j!* prison; sav^one.^^• J ;vM^v-,{^-. 
)(^j>.,, ^^.i\ 4 ' ■■ ■ ■' ' , •• • . '^■;'. ■ "^^ ■'•••• . • /.- '■ 

^{Vifeu: ' *Th IS monster had given orders to have re»'' 
- >n^ *treat cut bfi, in order that his premeditated work" 
;|f;^^' might' be more' clompletc. The hurried wretefics, • 
?ff:o: had but one door to fly to, and choked in the pas- ^ 
V -^ sage, carnage had leisure and could sport amid her' 
;^2v,^ toils. It wasalso in evideilce, that captain Short- ^ 
l^'i^:; hn6\ at the commencement of the firings had sciz* ' 
^1^ ed hold of the musket of a soldicrl; "'':'' , 

^fe; . Thexomiifiittc^ wrote oh thr)eighthi April, in. j 
.^:::; fbrmingMh:Bca^ as he did r 

;*:;^..; not ans^vertiibrcommunicatroivit^was'^ concluded f 
^l^;thm;theldt^rltifcl htcn inicre^pted. Onvtheibutl^- ^ 
Ji^|:. tceriUi^ittlGtier^va^ receitiidfrc thef^ -; 

i;|;^j twelfth, ^whidh ^vill be Jqund in the appendix, to-^ 
^'^^^r gcthfer withitheaihswer of the committee. The 
- -^^^ ffcpprkloi; th^ ag^ht$«>f the Britwh ^ytJmnK^t Iiad • 

'» . "^ - ■ • . • • • . I * . . »■.. .^ -.'■-. 1 / '. , / 



r/^" 






1^ - ^ 20 






■i r "... *: y ' • .- 

[lyndc crronCo\is impressions on the mind. of, Ml;* I'^i* ". ] 
jDcaslcy, which, lmwevcr,.\vas crazed on^ the ^J^:'^\ ^ 
iccipt of the report of the. committee^ as appears. ^"•^^"? j 
tby his letter oftlie fourteenth ^f April, to \vhiclv:;|5v* |- 
jVas sul)joincd an extract of thc.statement made bjr^j^-l^^ 

^thc admirality board. ' . • •' *\; ;^ ;'(-:::! 'Vi^^/v'^^^( Ij 

A further invcstictation now took place, upder 'v^; / i; 



'\hc .American Legation at. London, and a Mr, :;Jji/|| 
I*. Larpent, on the part of the British government, .|^^^^;-^ 
with a mngistrate of Devonshire, arrived at the. >t-^v 
depot to investigate the transaction. Nearly threct ; :-^'^ 
. days elapsed in the taking of depositions. It is, ,i?^|J^ 
not the province of impartiality to judge hastily,. ^.^>4? 
but it belongs to truth to state facts. After a ma-f^^^' -•; 
tuvc consideration of the report of Messrs. King -^^^J^jJ:; C 
^nd Larpent, and of the circumstances upon which :^.- . , 
that report is founded, it can at best be consider- .^'^if' 
cd partial and imperfect. The anticipations of the ^i^r^i'/V 
prisoners on the result, were not mistaken; Mr- y -f 
''. King did not appea? interested iir detecting ith^f J, , 
^ yvrongs and outrages which his feUowiCitiz€n§had>V;^^sf 
experienced ; the greater portion of the time was^^ ^ 
consumed in the examination of witnesses offeff^; 4^'^^ 
cd by Shoitland, maAy of whom h^d been the Ih-'^ ^ 
©trumeata of hi» crime, the part^k^rs cf his guiU. ^;/^ 






i 




' : i^'i^v.^ were in wailVn'g, whose depositions they i 

91: .'2^ requested tlir,t 

^^Ai*i» they might be examined. . To this note no answer 
v"^!^^ Svas returned i nnd he imnie<iiutcly left Darlnioor, 

?^* >.i*he testirtionj which it was desirable should have 
?.%^-:-: Dcen made known to the commissioners related to 
•*n*'V^^.r']the hole in the wall, and the breakino: theiock of 
^r•^*^^the gate; by it the prisoners generally would have 
;^Iii«€r.'bcen exoner^ted^-from any share or connivance, 
-%fe .*/*ahd €ven the knowledcte of those nets. These 
r^^il^;^' -were the points on which Shortland relied for his 
^;i;jj^:.:- justification, and therefore it was highly impor» 
hS [.K^^tant that they should be clearly elucidated. Was 
li^:v:;Mr, Kingso easily to be duped, or did hevolun* 
.\i^i^' ^^^y P^^ ^^^ bandage on his own eyes ? Fortu- 
Lt;J5» T.^i^t^ indeed for him would it be if his counir}'- 

r;i^-l men should be convinced of the firsts their com* 






j^passion would equal his creduUt3% and if it were 
' *'|^ "''■ the last, their philanthropy, perhaps, would par- 
.•.- hV^don, in consideration of the. weighty account hp 
^i'V.r: might have Ip, settle with his conscience. 

'■pIl'^A^" The Rep(Jrt of the commissione/s accompanied 
viP^ •'*^*'s narrative, jind k open to examination: It i^ 
*- -V i;^by no means clear i a general uncertainty are th^ 
^rfij^j7;^/priheipal lealures ; responsibility is fixed no where.- 

presented as an 




*i. 



>MHM 



K 28 ■ '""''■■'M'^ 

undisciplined rabble, actinp^ ^vithout orders, v-^' 



^ Wiirrc was the r.utliority of the ofHcers of the jrar-^ . ;r 

ribon at this momentous period ? Where were the ^^\ 

i ofliccrs? at dinner. Did, not the alarm bell rousC'Mffir 

,t)iem ? It seems not.. The soldiers were* mUrdci:*,»'-^'?-\, 

/in;;]^ their prisoners, while the officer^ wcre.cu^ollj^v^^^^^^^ 

catinf^ their dinners. Indeed the discipline of Dart- fft^; ^ 

moor .G^airison must have been rigi3. An attci;npj; ^iVf**" 

it is said was made to identify some of the soldiers \:-^'i*^ 

(>!.who had committed the particular outrages all u^-'.^^^^^^^^^ 
•r dcd to in the report. " The croSs lire which was V-.tf' 
taken up from the platforms on the walls romcL^^-T^ 
"the prison, and. directed rt5;ainst straggling partie&-*|t^i;)J 
of prisoners, the commissioners acknowledge Joe^;^<"^¥f} 
seem to be without excuse." ^VvvHy li does seem ^ySi^^^i 
and if the commissioners had deigned to have ,, .vV 
examined the witnesses who were waiting on the ;--/l^>r 
p'.irtof the prisoners, for that purpose, they migl^t r**^^35' 
liave reported, "the whole transaction does sfenr:'^:i^\ 



wiihontexcus*::.*' ' * V '!v^^^^•:''• 

: Between the report of the committee and that of •>,* ::|^^ 
tlv; commisbiondTSjtlTcre is much clashing on all .'/>->' 
the importantpoints;,l^''isperhapi5 unnecessary to ;.;*^'f 
express confidence in a plairi ' unvarnished' talc, '[■ >" 
'X accompanied by the. affidavits from. which the f c- ^r ^ • 
port of the committee is founded.?, these accompa* '^' i' i'i,^ • i 
•ny this narrative also, and may easily be compa-; '^^^^^ 

red with the report of Messrs.. King^and Larpenf^^. : c\7|" 
: This report does certainly go tp th^ whole l^ngthtv 






•i . . -.. . . / - 

I- -v.-": '^^ / 

'f-;^;; of justifying Shortfand^s conduct ; but what docs 

inclo* 
morc 



ti^;.i Mr. King say iiiliis letter to Mr. Adams, i 
\.-M&^^% the report ?>*lliatby^ conduct a little 
^]i v''^y?"^niponsing, this drendtui alternative of firing up*- }, 
i^lfi;-^^ have been avoided.'*/' 

^^-^i^.?*^ Could he with that Conviction sicn that extraordi.. 
; '>:^ '•'i^ , ^ary , that Protean report ? « 

'Wvv-'^ Jt lias been the policy of the British officers to* ' 
*:i ^a' blend ^f^^^ dispracerul transaction with events en* " 
■^&0^^^' tirely uncownected, both as to time and circum- 
:f}^^^'!;?>lance. The burning of. Mr. Bcaslcy in effigy^ "^ 
^:;^p^/;'Vhich happened a fortnight previous, without 
'^"^V^-^^'^*'^^^^"^^* without a general participation, was . 
?-feSi: artfully attempted to be joined with the fatal 6th 
5f*^^rvv^(!)f April. Had justification been possible upon 
i^i"^^*' .truth and principle, no such reports would have • 
It^^C'^^'^^ ^^^^ propagated. No, the deep and damnn- 
'4"^J^;^^^^<^^^^^ was known to be pregnant with disgrace • 
fe'y. to the British nation, and to suppress and colour ^ 
'' ?i^r*>^ the facts, demanded alhhatBritishjngenuity could •« 
:M^' invent. ^ .;. / '-.■/>. -■ •->.;i;;^^^^ / .:, 

^^^/'4^ At peace' with Great Britain, perhaps polic}^ 
^ri?5V.v;Ttiight »eem of -l 

'^ of hjCF "> 

.{(rfe Conduct/ should be aV^^ Buch a measure is i 
^:^;.;; tnie^common cry of fiycophantSc meanness andl 
' -^^l^^^ti^ bold, . candid> honesi 



1 Jl ■' > ?' * 



• f 



X ■*«;-■, 



n^ 



r^-:^ 






6oursc, is more congenial with ihe Amer!Cldn'Cha*"^^V ..> 
r.ictcr. What! art we afraid of Great Britain at ^^V"^ 



',*>''. ;-w • 









this day ? alter having s(>' often hung die stnpes^^;;;;^^^ 

* .and stars in triumph ovei* the proud linioii whicli iVv^: . 
\hnd so long streamed in conquest qvc\' the <lpmiy;^.t^^ ;/ 

liions of Neptune, after having driven fromi the ;"^**f' 
contested fields of the Niagara and Ne\v-OrKaiXi{fV;/. 

* Iier veteran armies, with disorac^ andslam;htef*-i-.". >*^.i: 
' /.hall \vc now smother in disqrace, and forget that ?' 3 ;.l 
: iiuch things were-? Impossible; they ought to be *Xj^ 

* iJcmembered ; and in conformity to tliis impres-^ 'i{j 
:. Hion is subjoined a few facts, which are indicate .r-^V]* 
['ry of a general disposition among th< Qritish oB^:0j^^ 

eers, to break down the spirits, of those .n>eiu>j;bv^^ 
wh.)se valor has so often triu'itiphedbvef their 4i^ 
•Coasted invincibility, by cruet instiit and unmef- '-^'^^■ 
Hed oppression, when they happened to fall priso-v^^;'^;^ "' 
jicrs into their hands* From the most authentic v^v^^-S 
sources, the certainty exists that at almost every /'ru.r:^ 
.depot of prisoners of the British government^ tlie :-ii{:>^v! 

*■ conduct of the officers has been uniformly ua* > -r' • v^ 
generous andinhuman^'.The officers of the army 'ff^,-^. 
and nav)%th(;' soldiers and sailors all agree in this// '> 
statement. The tyranny and barbarity of Cushet; *>''>%:, ' 
the agent at Halifax, haVe been the subject of th^ ^r$^^ '] 
Wrongest execrations*' Tlie treatment of the sick ^:^^lj 
)k;s been represented to be the very height of in«A V^??; } 

,. humanity — Itiseaid,* that from the fUst of CktO*?;^^';^; 

* "ber, iai4, to the first of February, 1815, one hun* 

'drcd Anicficani died vx Uie liospltal at Halilli^ 






;^.t 



I 



i|(A^^urely irbtn inatt6iitioir/ Tl^ facts wliidSafcfiere. 
$i :j:t Asserted are the rtpOrt^ of men of honor, officers' 
-»^f:6f the armyahcl navyjlwl^vsc veracity is not to be* i^ 
fe^*:'Xallcd in question* vl ^^ - 

^^-r * i Sl^sit the British officers have pcnnitted theif. 
^>;^^>j'5r^^ their prisoners, nb<;ds no' talc j 

^i?? r to Cl'>rro6drate ; talcs of this kind hnve' become ' 
^.l-:;' familiars the inhabitants of the frontiers have them 
* * '. • ^ngtaveii in characters of horror upon their ttic* 






> ^tno**jes 

Ij^-r)- ^1;; ■ At jhe J^attle 6f Chippewa a small pnrty,'con«. 

■ S^W^^^sting of Ltv^Colf Bull, Maj# Galloway, and Capt* 

'5j^\White, mth four privates, were taken prisoners 

f^^.by twenty or thirty British Indians — They were 

f'^'*^; immediately stripped and robbed, ami ftfter they 

SVa' "C'lnie about half a mile within the British lines, 

|>: ^' CoL Bull and two of the private* ^ere murdered' 

[%■" vand scalped- . ,.' ^' '^"- ^"^] ■ --'^'X^- >' • %. ■ '. 

^'^^r- «» ■ . • ■ " ■ *• - :■•■ • . • ". 

>:^.;^' When the party who escorted Capt.- Whife 

i-V^v ^"^G up with the rear guard of the. Brit ij^h re- 
treat, the soldiers cried ''wbd have you got thtrc? 
BiJ^y^a damned yankee?"^ ** yes'*-— well, damn»him, 
ft"l< *^^ him wclU** In cohfoftnity> they pushed ^^id 
vj^i^r^liiove him along for a mile on the run, and passed 
">r:/m the same manner through the British camp, 
f^NCilvhilstthe Indians were encouraged in their cnJ* 
';^V;^C city by the same kind of language- Coming tci" !h5. 
; tdge Of ^ wood, being exhausted^ hcvS^t dpwn* 






• • 



«J ,i 



> cl 



I. 



v 



*^ .-- .■ ■ •- • ■; J*i-.v -.■; 

J 



ilic Indians gtillicrcd round hinfij a|^)atx:fttiy wi(l> " .-^^J 
4hc intention of killing him,* two or three Canadiaiy •:• n> 
militia at this moment rescued him from theif^Tr^^^:'^ f 






Mnjor. Galloway was brought before gJneraL.^^C 
l^iall, he requested the general .th;»t his clotlieVat r ?-S' 
Icasit migiit be returned. ** What the Indians got ./^^JV^^^^ 
we cannot obtain,'* he answered, and wheelingon ^'fi?^^ 
his heel, sit down near the door on a bench with '^ 
his officers. The prisoners were ordered undef '^^ 
guard separatel}', and were kept without clothes- ■^^-r- 
or rations for four days, and slept on die grolindr-.f^^T^^l:^;' 
without blankets or coverin2:i Duririff this tiihd'^n''^^^5: « 
hey subsisted on the charity of the private^ol^'if;- •'; ;[ 
^icrs, wiien they were drove eighteen miles/ nsf 7*'' ;!;Ci 
^cd and hungry, to Fort Gcorgci-^y'-^p-^u<^^0^ 






■ " Who are you?'* said general Drummondt^T ■j;?''^ 
leutenant Clark oi the New York state mililid6 3*^i' 
;\ho had been brought a prisoner before bin?* ^c^n.^:*-^-.. 

. Dr/zm. :« Of the line ^ ,:^ 'r^^- odi^^i. A 



'Viark. *« No/sir,bftethmtM?*'^^>•4^^^Jr>^;^^^^^ 
Drum. ^' You have don« larming, hare J^u^J?.'?^^-; 



Ow-t. " Partly.*' • ,• -{--/^ •.-'■ •'■ -:tV::-^':,l.m,^' \ 

■*■■■-■ " •*■ . ■". ■ I. ...-.•* 

^i>runu •* Then you -ftbuglu yoii wouhl cm^-;"}^^; 



iHMMMflMlNHMMMfMH**^ 



.f- :,(.'.■■ 



1 



i 



! ' >il 



% 




» 






<-r-^>^j;;. • V-:;-'----- :•>-• :.- -.-^ 



y^V .; f C/^rA%^/l,l .have seen one campaign before/^ / 

li^f^'?''^^^^. ^* \yell young man you shall have your 
^^v^ t)tU\^rulI of it before you go home; you shall go 
-i:'i.Vi to Botany Bay, and there remain during your na« • 
i^> V turul life, if it is a hundred years. You have no 

.%v • business here. There shall be a distinction made 

%-''",/- . . - . • • ■ .,■'>■■*■'■ 

4^^: between you and the regular officers." ,Tlic gcne« * ' . 
: ,i-i*. Vallhen ordered the lieutenant's canteen taken frorti • 
f^'^'^jfliim, and his pockets searched. What a picture 
V|»:;,,of a British general! Tlie reader will recollect* \ 
jr*K€hat this statement - ' 

1^-/ , '■ The followirtg is certified by nine officers of the ' 
}'^f^\: militia. They were captured at the^sortie m::de.- ^.^ 
^^?:;,1Vom Fort Erie, the 17th Septembtr, 1814. The'^^^:, 
^^j number, including privates, were abtjut one hunw • ' ' r^; 
:i'>'^ died and eighty. After their capture, ihey were , *' 
j V Marched to Forf George, and during three days - ' 
1*^5 -nuirch thither, had :their rations served out ra>v, ^^-y.. 
j )-,^d t)X) me^ns of c6bking allowed. On their arri** 
;ji^:U";viil at Fort George, officer^ and men promiscu^ ,^;- : 
l;;-;^"#^ere crowded into a Vvretched guard house,' •v'^ 
J, 6f -without hammocks,* infested with vermin, and 
• ;>, ; j?»vh<:re the hjud was ovet shoes. From this place 
':,|lhey\vfifc waitjhedtoBttrlidgton'Wei^tnajIaa* 



\ 






•<^ 



) 









Vi 



: } s. 



for ihe two first diys on the^^nd/no pf ovfsiond^ ^ V 

were served out lothem. In the Htorcli from Bur- "/S 

Iinf,^on Heights to Little York; -'ttt< guard was' i 

augmented by a number of Indians. The pri^>;:^X'>.r 

, soncr-s were subjected to much iifLSuIt.^^yith thig^ *^'^ ,1't 

ticxctssivc fatigue and want of nburlshment^ trtarij *>.J^ fe 

of die soldiers sank to the grouiidj'they tyCtf irf^rT./ V 

I himinnly pricked up with the bayonet, and'Xpin* -; ^<^:^' 

impelled to keep pace with llie rest. >K%;^^^V;;r^:^^ '^ui^^ 

The story of Captain John D. Nelson, of Ph**. i, 
iadelphia, will finish this detail of disgusting bar- ".Vx| ]■ 
barhies. He was a passenger on board a vessel '' .^U 
'•'bound from the United States to- Ha vanna which :y'^^5v- 

\vas caj)turcd and sent into Halifax. He was de* ' ^.J^■ 
r'tained as prisoner at Melville Island for fbilr '■^5:y^J^: 
!■ months, where he died, most unquestionably froni ^^>^ 
I. the cruelty of his treatmentc He Was confined in ''^'>': 

!-the bbck hole while he was sick— *fbr what? kit.: '1:^1 
' • . . ,. , .. • -^^jt ' 

!* 'writing a letter for a Mr. Myers, which had t^ .^-J?^ 

^ pass Cuchct, the brutal keeper's officCp stating •<.;! 

j some facts relative to the prison. After ten daye^-Y^ ,^V 
"confinement, he was released) being so weak that ' 

J .he.could not endure further (punishment He ret Ty^'\'*^ 

|*4qucsted that he might havd the privilege, Avhich , >^ 
.'was usually allowed to gentle men" passengers, to *^-f^:^ 
live with the officers ; this was denied, aiid he was v:?^ 
•compelled to reside in the lower priSotB. He dp* 't 

. plied to be admitted into the hospital, on account ;^-rc; 
rM his bad state of hcahh,i but wq$ refuse^ by tlit^ : " -ft 



1 / 



1 >'' 






' •» ■ • - 









^/ feurgcon, M*Donald, and sncaringly told " hcwa^ 
I ;• >^hamming old soldier.'^ When the prisoners wcrt 
K^ turned out for tlieir health -as was said even in the 
r< boldest weather, and in the midst of a snow storni> 
2',. Capt. Ncls'dn, thotiglrso'AVchk that he could not n 
.^d^!^^lk without assistance, was also forced to leave ' 
j5l- '..lis V|UJtt*tcrs by the ordvrs of McDonald. Human 
I'^^^tiaturfccould not long sustain such severity of 
;V;;» trcatifivnt,and he finally sUnk under his sufilrings. 
I;;-^ Alas, poor Kelson I thy heart was warm ! thoti 
tf Jiadst even been attached to the English charuc- 
^ w- ter, and had spoken and written in its vindication. 
^V;;^; It was in vam— the tyger is npfto be; attached by 
^v>*^sef vices ; his cruelty everi devours the hand which V 
v>,; feeds Wm— and thou hast fallen, whilst under the 



I;, protection of a nation which thou hadst been 

2, .taught to reverence as the rnixlel of every thing /" 

j,^V grcatj wise and magnahiniou^;^ Thou hadst been • ^ 





. '.-••^^•-■/•^ *,-#. f -/» Ilia 

• ?..*-, *<- .. :t« ..5. .'J.'- I'l' 





f ' " v..-: -r N 


i ■■'■■..: ::-r 






> 


■ * •%• 




*•?•••/ '' ' 


* 




'* '-'1 






'^' 


. ■' '.■•'^ 


4 


'•V 




.'" 1 • 




' ' 1 . • 




*', •-'•"■•■ 




•»^^ .,-. • 


. , 


• ■♦/;*• 




■ • ?t- 




• 




., - . ^ 


. 




'•■> 


, . 'f 


^^ 



\ 



V > ■, 



v^*'^^^^*- ' "^^-i^W^ Arwtor/t JVational JdvocateX 

x,v-'. •,:■>.>.■ V.'' .' j-.^'""; ••• . i. 

■!.-'>;**•:;•: . *-*•: - v.-.j'V,*-:.- .. ,. ' • . . ; ; 

f '>*'• »., • > • ,■-**■ . • 

f'''^^>\V.*k*. ' " '' HAVING seen in print several different 

I :?CX statements of the massacre of the American prisoners. 
■■S^^'.^f^r v'nv ut Dartmoor, and,oq perusal, finding, that, though 

^'v?/ -they corroborate each other, tis to the leading facts, yet'. 
^ ' ■ ]^Sk^(iems the publicare not \xi possession of all the parti- 
^\J>}^\ <:u\ars necessary to form a proper judgment of the same. . 
"'.T While in prison, wc have been members of the com-' 

t;»V;^^?'^''-^^« through -ivhom was- transacted all their public bu- i , 
y^.i-\. flnbss, and through whose hands passed all the corrcs* 

^*'i?r^>/;|>-,i:dence with their agent in London, and having in our 
«^*p^r possession several documents' relating to the bcfore- 

ilt'lr ' jnentioned brutal bittchcry, we deem it a duty wc owc^- 
.*^<^-fvS^' to our murdered countrymen and ^Uow-citizer s in gc-^^.; 
it'-V^fe iicral to have them published, and accordingly request ' 
'1. ■' ' that you would be pleased to lay them before the pu^ilio^r 
■ -^^-v ''^ 1^ • Respecting the conduct. of T. G. Shortland (cominan-.. 
. ,i ^^;|/dcr 6f the depot of EJartpioor) prior to the bloo !y nnd ' 
j,fh ^ C-eVeV memorable sixth of April, it Was a series ol con-Vi 
f i^'^'*'v^ tihucd insult, injury s&id vexation to the prisoners ircne»-'/- 

itviv^O rillf. Incapable of appreciating the beneficial cfft^cts,. 
:M/'jf|y^-'.oftbc liberal policy of a gentleman, his sole study ap-*- 
'j:| "^"viVv pearcd to be de^ismg* rA«ans t6 render the situation of ^? 
i[| ■•^V';- the priionerg as disagreeable a^ possible. To instaTicca^ 

,4^^1-.' ; ftw of his proceedings .will sufficiemly warrant the fore-.v 

•I fe ; ?^^*^& assertion— His; condutt to the Amrricar officrrsii'' 



■.'•••'> ..V 

j tonsiniction of the depot at Dartmoor ihtrt \ras 1 tef** "y 
paratc prison, built ancl enclosed for the more commo* ',' 
tlious accommodation of those oflicers (prisoners of war) ■^' * 
Tvho were not considered by them entitled to a parole* ^> 
Instead of Shortland allowing thoso ofiicers to occupy Wv^ 
t that prison, they were turned into the other prisons pro-^'J^yv >. 
i tniscuously, with their men. His conduct to the prison- ,Mf^(i 
■ crs generally Was of the same stamp. Thero notbfcing'^^^J-*']- 
' at any time, a sufficient number to occupy aU the pri^v^iyi 
tons, he kept the two best, which were built by thf)| '• i, 
l^t^cnr.bmeh durlhtf their eonfin<<mcnt, and morb «<JnvC!*«^'L/*i 
, riently fitted for the accommodation of prisoners, ihi^t . . •' . 
I and unoccupied, while the upper stories of thosti pri, **;i^.l. 
sons in which the Americans were put were in such a v?x'.*^' ' 
state, that on every rain storm the floors were nearly in- Y^Ti** *' 
^^•undttted. The pernicious effect this had on the health f,"i' , 
i\*of the prisoners may be easily judged of by the great ^K '^ % 
I mortality that prevailed among them during the last •*'''■ 
I ' trinter season. , > . • 




men were confined in that depot, it was a custom for tho^* - -^^^J' ^ 
turnkey, with a sentry, to go into each prison, and scc»V^'''tS'' 



the lights extinguished at a stated hour ; although fro- ';''/1} ' 
•qucntly lighted again, there was no furtKe? molestation^ >»-K 
;• Instead of pursuing this plan with the Americans, Short- . f', ^J '\ 
•land gave orders lor the guafde to fire into the prisons .??y-to^ 
1^ whenever there should be a light burning. Frequently, ' '^V;;^ * 
^^onthe most trivial occasions, he would prevent the pri- '.I'^'i 
|. toners, for ten days at a time, from purchasing, in tho v.V>^ 
I tnarket, of the country people, such articles of comfort.; -vi! 
['^ and convenience as their scanty means would admit ofe; *^' ;*/■ 
I /His last act of this kind was but a short lime previous V't 
;;..' tothc massacre, and his alleged rcaat)n for it was, that .fe^^' ' 
'the prisoners would not deliver up to him a man that vivV^^^^ 
: *had made his escape from the black hole (a place of .>v; v 
^'confinement for criminals) and had taken refuge amongst 7/'^4^^'< 
j^jlhc prisoners in general. This man was one of a priao rC'-'V* 
^' crew, who was confined in that dark and loathsome ceU|V .^i - '. ♦ 
on a short allowance of provisions, from June, Id 14, un- ./\v-.' 
til the ratification of the treaty* The circumstances of „f ;>' / 
that Aumantf transaction shall at ai^other time, beiai(i-^^'%/^ 
bcforp the pub^c. On that man being demandedi thof f-^^' 















'"-]:•' prxsoncra slated to Slioriland, il»at llicy du! not presume 
•*; that the British government would expect them to stand 
sentry over each other — that he might send his tnrn- 
^^\ Jkcf^ and soldiers In and look for the man, bnt they would 
'^;'J, «ot seek him and deliver him up — upon which he order-' 
^^^it^ the military to fire upon the prisoners, hut owinp to 
W/^V 'the coolness and deliberation of the then commandinjj , 
''vlf^^^ilitarj^ rfticcr) in restraining them, this order was no^ / 

; ^r^/. To sum tip tKe whole in a few words, his conduct^ 
;^*fr,p.hrnuj»houii w»t« marVod by iho nRrne inibarftj iii-t-ju-Utnii, 
ij/^f', nci^Liirint^.irtsult, and savage barbarity, which cliarac-^ 
fj^^Mcrizcs thc: m^jorUy rf English ofTiccrs ivhcn they haVQ ^ 
K»*ji JAtiiericans in their power, . 

^'^f'-. '^^^ enclosed papers, from No. 1 to 16 inclusive, are 
SV/ tl»e depositions taken by the committee of investigation' 
'r*/,^ on the 7th. Colonel Ayre arrived from Plymouth and' '* 
.Sr^jjv took command of the military department of this depot. 
^T;'J-l''^*Shoriland sent in a mcssan;c to thc committee, request-* 
J*|'<^»' 5ng their attcndanceat his ofTicc, to which was returned 
^ v^^yifor answer, that considering him a murderer, Ihcy were 
vvS'i?*.' ^ctermi»edlo have tio further communication with hiiil 
v^.;.^,7; wbut added, if the commanding oITicer from Plymouth 
?;^>^^had any thing to communicate, they would wall on him f 
i>ij* \ and, at his request/ they went up to the gate^ where they 
;" '^.<i B'tated to him>all the particulars of the affair. 
%^^':* He expressed great regret for what had occurrctt, 
ff :iir;V and assured thc prisoners that no further violence should 
^v^^ be used upon them. In the "mean time Shortland made 
f>>*^'; his appearance. Instantly the indignant cry of murder* 
.^■J' -V[ er, scoundrel, villain, burst fronx the lips of hundreds. 
t'^i^i' \^rhe guilty wretch stood appalledj' not daring to offer a 
'i'v-v^^V^'^^^^ in vindication of his conduct } but with a pallid 
■vjt'n- visagd and trembling step returned to his guard houscj 
' -^'^^^TCi whence he was neycf seen to emerge while he re- 
ffv*'^^;H tnained th^re. In the course of tke day a rear-admiral 
^:' -^^J-'V and post-captain arrived from Plymouth, sent by Sir J^ 
^V'';-.; '% Duckworth, commander in chief on that 8tatior>, to 
^^,t«v ' . enquire into the transaction j to whom was likewise fully * 
Jt-.i^^^^^ the particulars, together;; 

i>Vv'> '^^ Shortland's previous infamous conduct Their scan- 
,fT dalous misrepresentations o? the same to the admiralty^ 



^•; • :. board, as will be seen iti their statement No. ?0, is trulyt 
,^-;.;^^^^ British official accounts. Welikcwisft 

Iv- i!^rt>Je to W. Dc^ley on that diyr giying him n ahpn \a%* ,. 



: 'i;?- i!^rt>je to W. Dc^ley on that diyr giving him n ah 



y 



tory of ibc arfair, but as lie did not acknowledge the rJ-; ' 
cript of the letter %vc concluded it had been interccpl- , , 

rd. On the Utli ^\c received a letter from him dated — .'-' 
The l2ih,of which No. 1 8 is a copy — in answer to \yhich.'*J^*.' • 
No. 19 is a copy. On the 1 6th wc received anotlier Jet- ,;f@; 
ter frona him, of which No. 20 is a copy; in the interim 't*?^>.?i** ' 
he had seen a copy of our report, sent by a private.)*/ ' 
\ Gonvcyance, ^Thich seemed to have greatly altered his ''^ 






'^ opinion concerning the afi'air. In his letter of the 1 4th '^ '^1:'!'. 

*"was an extract from tlic staicmcnt-or ixpott sent by the y*^ ' 

^admiralty board. On receiving which wc wrote to/ad- ^ ''•<» 

miial Duckworth of which No. 21 is a copy. ,,>. '" * "^v ;-: *^ 

On the 22d of April, IVIr. King, appointed by the A- '*/*>?. 

merican agciUs at London, and a Mr. Larpent on the ' '^-^ ! 

part of the government, with a magistrate of .the county ■<)fi% 

of Devon, arrived at the depot to investigate the affair; \a;;->v-- 



-^ , they were employed the greater part of three 'days in.}' *'^ 






ecting tho same; and Uioiigh •,,.,'iv 
we would not hastily prejud{;c Mr. King's report, vrp ' ^■^yj?" 
deern it necessary to state, that our anticipations .of it .StV 
arc not of the most favourable nature, from his not ap- '^^^^r.V' 



p^'aiing to take that interest in the a Hair which th6 in-^"* '4^, 
juries his countiymen had received demanded, as far the V.S4; - 
•^ greater part of their time was employed in taking the ^i^'. "^I^^v 
'.■: depositions of Shortland's witnesses, mostpf witom were t > 3^3 
the principal actors, on that day, and of course were im- ^r^ 'W/i 
plicated with him in his guilt. On learning Mr. King Vj^i".' 
was about leaving the depot, wc addressed a note to him, {-y^j)^^ 
stiting, that we had a nurfiber of witnesses waiting, {;,.v|^,',^ 
.whose dcpositifwis we conceived would be of importar ce, : v.':^)^ 
ami requested him to have them taken; we received to* j^."f'^-^p 
this note no answer, and he immediately left the depot. '>'.>i#> 
;The ])articular points on which those depositions would J tT 
have borne, related to picking the hole in the wall and T-lv . ,., 
breaking the locks of the gate leading to the market U^^'^^' 
^square— they Would have exonerated the prisoners gC** V '/i- 
ncrally for having any share in those acts, or even .a •'xj.v^ 
„Jinowledge of their having been committed. As these .';;,jS 3 
I were the two principal points on which Shoriland rested -'-^j,' 
.'his pica of justification, we deemed it highly necessary >,? ^^f^^ 
that they should have been placed in. a pfcpcr point of .;^ .t. 
view. As for an idea of the prisoners attempting tb break 'i^yy^ • 
out, a moment's reflection would convince any jitipariial :<;,»- v*> 
.hrtT of its improbability.. Every prisoner that had .fty».f 'v-^^' 
siifTicicncy of monty, *o^ defray hi^ Expenses, cmild ob *"' '^ 






• 1''.. ,^';^^. -,.,:-. •'Sr ^v''••:.^ .- -.f -'r'vr':**v^. VV- ■> •' 



,'|" ■- " ■'■-'■:'.--*"^>.'Trr-.'.'i!Si nf. - ^ v,^ ^ 

^ '; tain his i^lcasc and a passpdrr,%t!ppljrinf^ to Mr. Deas-' 
, . ;r ley, or throucb their correspondents in I'.ngland ; those 
■;;v-K. who had not funds Avculd not have left the depot had the 



\ 




J'f^.^jt' l^^ates been thrown open, havings no means of subsistence 
'tf'k''- in a foreign country, and there beinj^ a very liot press 
^ i^i^vLof seamen at that time, they knew their rislv of being 
.J v>vi kidnapped was great, and when, by staying a few days 

K':-A^' . o . . . o 

■■,\- themselves with knivts, clubs, stones, £cc. seized apart 

t^j..-H of the guard and disarmed them, nnd other similar re* 

/fVtii po*'ts, a?c unworthy of nolitc ; for when the disturbance 

y. .v<j:' occurred on the fourth of April, concerning bread', the 

.'/Vc^ prisoners having burst open the inner ^atcs, had they 

I .KJ^J;v the least disposition, Ihey might then have immolated 

, /;.L^;fe tJ^c whole garrison, as they Mcrc completely surprised 

and panic struck. 



|'??*f/' ! '^lic artful pr.licy of the British oflnrcrs in coupling 
.;v;.'^.V'|tlie transactions of the 6th April with that of burning. 
^A~;4::^^'*' Beaslcy's effigy, may easily be seen through; the 
^'^.:1 Jitter was done a fortnight previous, by a few individu- 
i ■I'^^'-^W «^^9> without its being generally known, or the least dis- 
j j'^^^^vA^.turbance ronccrning it; and we deem it but justice to 
^ HiH' ^^^^c> ^'^^^ whatever negligence Mr Bcaslry may have ' 
!,y^V» been guilty of respecting tli6 ftfTAlrs of the prisoners, J 
.^^fej-; 1^^ should be totaHy exonerated from all blame respect*, 
^^vVyfing the massacre. . . - .r ' ■>' 

^K"V' '^ ''^*'® was an instance that occun-cd on the evening ^ 
v^>-«>f the fih which reflects so much credit on the Amcri-^' 
'^^> cans, it should not be passed over in silence. When the 
; >^.. brutal soldiery were following the prisoners in the yards,': 
. ;-;ic stabbing and firing among them, a lamp-lighter, who had 
^' / fef?'^°"^® *^ ^ ^^ moments previous, ran into No. 3 prison, .*= 
:^'L:/;fv.to escape being murdered by his own countrymen ; on ' 
''' y-;Oeing recognized, a vope was fixed for hanging him : 
/ v^vl'^^'^^^^^^y* ^" t'^i* moment of Jrritaiioij, when thcip.l 
/^.- '''^^r^tercd and bleeding countrymen lay groaning a-' ^ 
r^; " kI thunft in the agonies of dissolution, such an act of : 
^ ' .^fecancc, at that time, would not have been deemed 
/lingular — but 6n it» being represented to theni,by some ' 
jinflutntial characters, that such & deed would stain ih©' ' 
\ ' -A"^^**^^^ nimci to their honof bi it recorded, that hu-' ' 
L Si V^*'?^*^.^^'^"*^^^*^ Of ef vengeance, the trembling wreichV^ 
pfr%f «^i«^H toidlpldto B0-J»»w« disdain 10 copy %i^^^ 




ynur countr/ir.cn,ar.d murder yoii at this advantage J W6 v/\*' -* 

will seek a move noble revenue." i;''/^'' 

Wc deem it lu ic neccbsr.ry^to remark, as some cditorl }>^if: .; 

have maiiifitstcd a disposition to vindicate Shortland's ./';•.; f 

f.ondnct, that, allowing evciy circumstance to\)c placed ..i-.i^^&j 

< !!» the most unfavourahic poiiitof view for the pdsoncrs»\ ;^-tA^'.- 

MjppoLc, lor a moment, it v/as thtir intention to brcakv\^t" .•{.v'' 

• ml, und a timnhei* had coUcclcd in the market sqlla^©•y^y^^ 

?t^f ("or ihiil p\!rposc, when, being charged upon by ihc nii-V- i[*..,' 

**iiaiy, t!ity retreated out of the square into.their rcsprj* iV^^^^ 

;*i\c pri:;on yards, nnd shut the gates after^thcm with« ,%<. i'C^ 

iiuklng any resistance ^vhatever; under ROeh tirc\iir/f''F*i v 

. , r-i-.uccsiiO fartlier opposition could have been cxpcctfid^- '♦^ vy. J 

>. , i«nd,*tonst<Micn»ly, their intention must havc-bcbn com*^: .',' \ 

V,' V'^^^^y defcaved. \Vhnt justification can there then b-^j.^' '.7: '^f 

; •- MT.dc lonppear fori! (^ .sul)sc(iuent, bfuta),^nprccedenV'^****."^i' 

rd butchery ai.d mmilation : — None I Th6 shost fthame- ^^'^^ji' 

itish ,.:>j^.^!l 




DEPOSITION No/ I>-. -ri^y:.^f^ 

[. .'-JJUcn II&tmirf!yht'm^ tolcmnly sworn '-:i rlic holy^^vV' 

*t uihm'i^sis <.r A'.mighly Clod, depose and ^.\)- - ^^ 

;', 'i bat, on the Cth April,'abou?, 6 o'clock in the evening, *v ■* 

T \v;'.s in the maiket square, where \he soldiers were ^ *^^';, '^ 

:t'rn\vn up. There were a numbccof Americans in tiie V';^;^ 

* y.^Liarc— ;r> the best of my judgment between fifty and 't/^'^-f 

. ;\ hundred. 1 distinctly heard- captain Shortland order \^>fiv 

' J'U': fj)l(1iers to charge on the prisoners, which tiiry did '.<: 

;.t t do till the order was repeated by their own ofiicert, '',t 

!••'' . vhcn they charged, and the prisoners retreated througfi ',;.*•• 

'1'. M)Ci:acs, whivli they shut to after them. In this in te-.-*^*** 

• '' ;im '1 had got behind a sentry box, in the square, andy'^ , 

the Eo'.dicrs w'cnt past mc. I saw captain Shortland open- ^ ,,^'f 

^ *J\:t gates, and distinctly hcar^l him give ibc word to v ^ 1 

jli re « which tva» not immediately obeyed, the command- ." y? ^/^ 

. iiii;: cfTiccr of the s<ildicrs observing, that he would noto -jjlrl 

h>--9i'dcr the men. to fire, but that be (fehortland]) might d^:>..x':>r 

^^ -'(^ he. pleased. 1 theti gawcapt. Shortland seiee hold, of ''J :;■: K 

^musket, in the hands of a soldicr^whlch^rasimmcdi*';:/^ \Ji* 

L^^j ftred— but I am notable td say whcthcri h^ or ihcj.:> ;^^^^ 



aaoicif nijiied ^^ trfrctft At Uit^ time 1 m% chdelitl»v,r -cSv h 

•..7.'.,,'! *--■,•'.•'. r>:-, ..♦';..•..,.:*• , - . ^ /? VA<|/, : ^'iVvI-l/V ,.; . . j^Jfr,,-.' -j 



•.'-,v» 

J ' ■ > 'J ■ 




^f: '* / ,»uj^ lo.gct ihrptigh'thc gate ii»to llic prisn/fyarc! — <n fio 
.^^^Ja'y doin? several stabs Amic lJ^^(lc i\t ir«^-A%nli l)ayontls» 
•-'ifi .'- "ivhiclJ i cvatled. Immediately after the firii.p liccamc 
'''A,;*:^-^-, genera!, and I rctvcattd, witli ilic remainder cf tbc pri- 
]yf^<^'ii';-%ot\€Ti, down the yard, llic soldiers Following and firing 
;.'^>'-Vl1 the prisoners ; after 1 lind got into No. B prison, I 
v^v^'-^theard'two vollics fired into the prison, ifeat killed one 
'i'^'^i'tfii^ and wounded anothcl— and f\n thcr the deponent 
^■VT^saiU) not/;Vp : '' : ADDISON lIOLMl;S. 

w-- ''4'Liv-^^^^> the.Sndcrsigned, Wing duly aj pointed and sworn. 



3 




, . holy evangelists of Almighty 

,'^*. ^" pose fend day as before written, which was severally readi; 

^;^- ;;f ii)>uCh One«Who subscribed the s:\nic. " ."^ 

^-^"^^l^ P> -V ' WILLIAM n. ORNE, ' 

m^^^^'^'i- -^l' • ' AVILMAM HOnARTo , 

1^ :4>,- ;;ftM '^. • , lrancis joslph, - 

i^ K^V '- '•: ='--^^ JAMES ADAMS, 

M?^te^ ? Y ,: WALTER COLTON, 

K^: -/ \ :'■ JAMES IJOGGS. . ^'.i* 

^^'^ll^i fA ccrtificftlie similar to the foregoing, is Mtachcd ^o < 
^'; ^f'v , 'each of the depositions.] 
;':'"^'^'*' DEPOSITION No. 2. 

Jjfi^^Vrt.t We, the undersigned, bcmg each severally sworn oft -/, 
>} sVk; "^^c *^o*y evangelists of Almighty God, depose and say — t 
:V?i'>^;f 'V That on the 6th Apiil, about six o'cl6ck in the evcn- 
,.: ^;'5t;\;ing, as we were tValking in the yar4 of No. \ and No.,. 
\)f V^v; .3 prisons, just befofc the usual time of turning in, wc \ 
:^;;;^;^card the alarrnbell ring* At this time most of the pri» 
'-.^i^- : fifrners were 1n the prisons'; a number with us ran up 
^^V! Vthc market square, ou^ of curiosity, to see what was the 

»; Vmaiterj there were about one hundred collected in the ' 
'*::^\'^^S(]U^Cy and a number were standing by the gates insido 
<>j!^ ^^>thc prison yard | the soldiers were drawn up in the up- 
'Vivv;.w'i r^** r^**^ of tlic square; orders were given them to 
i^ Y;^y^ which the prisoners retreated out of the square, 

•/i*. ''"and some of the Sast which came through the gates^ 
^fjfc. /^fehwt thew to J the soldiers thcrt commcocad firing on 
'• W/;'^}*^*"™ through the Iron palings, and fired Several vollics , 
■^V^M^^^^^^ The, prisoners vr ere, at this time endca-'^j 

Iv* V.i: V^'fitig t^ get Into tS\elr respectire prisons, irhcn the sol- ' ' 
,t^'^!i'<aicrfipercdvcd- that, they Wei*e all dispersed from the 
L'i^rfMft^teS) tlMfy.^fo^^ ifiem into the yard, wd ^ntinucd 



I 



i l' 44 1 






fii4np; oh lliCii\i ;.rid afur all the prisoncrc liitd ^^ol ii)la ' 
the i^rijoiis, a p'^My of sold'u'ib lunsuing them, came up 
lo ilic door of No. 3 prison and fired two voUics into the 
prison, which killed one man and mortally bounded ano- \ • 

thcr. ' • '■ 'VC*^ 

Wc furtl'.cr solemnly declare, that there was r>o.pre-.oyT,^^^:' 
coiiccricd plan or intention amonc; the prisoners to make;^Vv|^^''^j' 
an atlempi tohreak out, or to resist, in any manpcr, the|-^.'*y>;^ji' 
•nnllioritv of the j^ovcri/ment of the depot. '■ ' 5'i' > 

JOHN T. FOSTER, .'-^-U^li-. 

CHARLKS PERRY, f "v^'T^^ ' 

r;i:ORGE SrJNCIIECOMB^ c.f '■'•^, 
';, ]:L1SHA WHITTEN, * • ■ ;:A 

JA,Mi:S GREENLAWj V';-!* ■* 

WILLIAM 1>KRRY, - "^ 'i;>>^.. 

RICIIAUI) LOWNlN0,^-i^,.-^,.; •'I^ ■ 

wm b oknk, '- r-^'-; ^> : : 

ISAAC L nURR. 

Done at Varinicor ftrisoti^ iMs 7lh day of Jfiril^ 1815. : f-^i^^'y- ■/■ - 

No. 3. '*fjl2j^-\, 

I, jindrciv D avis ^ Jim. bvAnv; solemnly sworn upon the 
lioly cvanf^clists of Almighty God, depose and say— - 

That on the 6th of April about 6 o'clock in the even- 
ing;, while walking in the yard of No. 3 prison, I heard 
the alaini bell ling, and 1 went up towards the gate ; I 
paw several men bearing a wounded man towards the 
j^atc, whom, it appeared, had be^n wounded by the sol- 
dicrs' bayonets ; when the prisoners weVe retreating 
out ol" the square, I heard captain Shortland order a part 
of I hem to let go the wounded man, which some ef them / 

did ; one of the rema"ning remonstrated to captain Short- f 

latid, saying that the man was so badly wounded that it ' ^ 
required several to suj port him; on which capt. Short- 
land struck him several blows with his fists, and heap-Svf»* 
peartd to me, from the whole of his conduct, to be much 
intoxicated with liquor — and further the deponent saith < - . 
not. ANDREW DAVIS, jun. 

• No. 4. • 

AVe, the undersigned, depose and say— . ; 

That, on the 6th pril, in the evening, we were in the 
(yard of No. 1 and No. 3 prisons, when we heard the 
ftring at the gates, aud saw the prisoners all endeavor- .• • 
Sng to ^et into their respective prisons. In going down 
lo\^ards the lower doors of the prisons, we saw a party 
tf fioiUit^rs, who ytevp posted en the walls, commence 



-..1 



, ••[ « J 

fiv,-'-" ■>'^*"^^ 00 the prisoners, and v,c saw a nii) call, ^vho im- ' 
I ^ V mediately died, and several oihcis were badly woundeti' 
';./-, f>efore Vhev were able lo j^ct into tlic prison 
.¥•;':♦ • ' ' HARRIS KEENEY, 

' J^' AMOS CHENEY, 

^:f^.^;- JAMES COFFEN, 

Il^^-S^;fe^ WASHINGTOrf FOX, 

'"i^;|^f;i:v THOMAS WILLIAMS', 

; '"^ ' «?■ V ; > JOFIN SMFIH, 

;, / : HENRY CASEY. 

''M'??^."" i ^, .. No. 5. 

: ,. ' :f/^^er*iilull^ after being duly sMorn on the holy cvan- 
jVvi'gcHrrts of Almighty God, deposcth and saith — 

On the 6th of April, about 6 o'clock in the evening, 
4.,W ^•* ^^^3 walking in the yard of No. 7 prison; all being as 
';:'?^- tranquil among the prisoners as usual, I observed an un- 
r'-v,;;. usual mirnber of soldiers mounting the walls, and one of 
them called to one of the prisoners and told him he 
, ,.^(the prisoner) had better go into the prison, as the pri* 
-'7;^;s6ners would soon be charged upon. While he was ask- 
. ing the cause of such a proceeding I heard the alarm 
bell ringing; I immediately ran to, the gales leading to 
the square, when I saw captain Shnrtland at the head 
of the armed soldiery inarching down to the gratings, 
^ the prisoners at the same time running to s?c what was 
the matter; on the soldiers coming to the gratinj^s. rpp- 
. tain Shortland ordered the soldiers to charge, viJcIi 
they did; the prisoners immediately ran to their respec- 
tive prisons ; on their passing through the inner gate 
tliey closed it after them. Then I heard captain Short- 
land order the soldiers to fire, which they commenced 
to do in every direction of the yard, when the prisoners 
were making every elTori to reach their prisons, I did 
, * not see any violence used on the part of the prisoners, 
nor do I believe any violence was intended or premedi- 
tated. , , HOMER HULL. 
. I, Josrfih C. 'Morgan^ having been duly sworn, and 
having read the foregoing deposition, do declare the 
statement therein mentioned to be tiue. 

JOSEPH C, MORGAN. . 
No. 6. 
"Wc, the undersigned, depose and say- 
That, on the 6th of April, about (> o'clock in the cvcr.j 
, ing \ve were in the maiket squart — we disiinclly heard 

, ' CHpt. Shortlatijpl give orders to the soldiers to ciiargc on 






»i\c f>i-isoncT§---and after wc retreated through the gatc8 • 
vre heard hirri j^ive orders to the soldiers to fire, wbicbj 
ofthis re|7eating levcral times^ was <:xcr.iuerl. -W-* * " 

X;, JOSKPlf REEVES, '^ 

\ ISAAC L. BURR, ■ ^^.i^h^^'l 

V JAMES GREENLA\Vyi^e%^ 

THOMAS TINOAV '" " 



i 




N\ 7. 

'»^ VVc, the lindcrsigncd, depose and say-r* v-^--^";'*' '"'-•^m'^\^^^^^ 
* t; -Xliatjon the 6lh of Aprif, in the evcDing-, afte^r r^tt'^Jl^ ' ;' 
pristine rs in No. 1, and 3 yards had f;ot into, their rt>>pe'<f- 'i.v, > 
live prisons, a party of soldiers canne up to the door ol/f^" - 
Ko. 3 prison — we were stundinj^ ntar the cJoor at tht 
htiie, and saw them fire two vollics into th5 prison^ 
tfhich kilkd one man and wound< d another. •'*" *»*. ^ • 

- ,.Wm. scank, ' ■■' ' - ■- 
- john latham, 
/t^';" james greenlaw, - 

' ^ john glass. • -4^ 



-Vv 



-0«, 



!**■ 



No. 8. 
Enoch Burnham^ havint^ been duly sworn, deposetlw- 
T'lrt he was standing at the nnarket*gate at the time 
captain Shortland came into the market square with a 
large party of soldiers (it being then about 6 o'clock.) 
They immediately formed a line in the square — at that 
time a number of prisoners got into the square from the 
yart.'ofNo. 1 prison, and had advanced a few steps; the 
sold'crs then cl trged, and the prisoners immediately re- 
,r't;atcd toihcir prisbrss, without the least resistance. Af-^ 
r tcr th( prisoners had retired to the y.uds of the p^rtsoil, 
the soldiery formed a line- and commenced firing in the 
yards, the prison ^ates lacing closed by the prisoners; 
shortly alter they kept up a heavy fire, and I saw one 
'man fail. — -1 immediately hastened to No. 5 prison, btit 
on reachinjj No. 7, 1 found there 'was a party of soldiers 
on J.l.e wallj firing fron^ every direction. 1 then got safe 
in No. 7, where, after remaining: at the north end win- 
der r few moments, I saw a man (a fiTisoner) leaning 
agahif,'. tlie ivall^ apparently wounded^ with his hands in 
a evpplicating posture — at the same timc\ I saiv several 
9oUlii:rs present and Jirc at the prisoner^ and he immed^ 
iitiiv fvil dead on 1 1:': f- flirty 

ENOCH BURNHAM.^ 






I 47 n 



i 



1? 



^ £dwitrd Coffinhtin^ duly sworn, (lcpos(*d that on tli<? 

I -Ctb April, about 6 o*clock in the afternoon, a few pri- 
1 goners, belongint:^ to No. 5 and 7 prisons, broke a hole || 
^■:.. through the wall opposite No. 7 prison, a<s they said to i 
^Pv-. ;<>et a ball out of the barrack yaVd, which they had lost |1 
^*''f-'in their play. After they had broke through th& wall, 
* the ofifircrs and soldiers that were in the barrack yard 
told ihem to desist or they would fire upon them. Im- 
•t^- mediately tifter that the drum beat to arms, and the 
*i l^-* sq«£i^. ;y^as filled with soldiers^ tnd without telling the 
pri^o.aCfs to go to their prison, immediately commenced 
--^^ J charge and fire upon them. I immediately started 
'^to go to No. 5 prison, and the soldiers on the platforms, 
on the walls commenced firing, and I should think ne^^ 
\ forty fired at myselif and three others. — I am sure therift 
:> were^no otheV men in sight at that time between No. 5, 
and prisons. In going round No. 5 cook-house, a pri- 
^>'^-*.«Soner was shot and killed very near mc. ^ \ 

:^r> :,.V.», EDWARD COFFIN, ' 

\^ '^ Attesl, "Henry Allex. * 

•■='' No. 10. 

^Vioman B. Matty having been duly sworn, deposed— 
About 6 o'clock in the evening of the sixth of April, 
I was called on by anumberof f^crsons, requesting me, 
as One of the committee, to put ^ stop to some boys 
•whom they said were picking a hole through an in'.ier 
I' wall, for which they said, our provisions would be stop-^ 
't^ j>ed to pay for. I asked what was their intentions in naak- 
ing the hole ? they faid it was for the purpose of obtain- 
. ^ ing a ball "which they liad lost in their play. I then re- 
^ j paired with a number of respecta^)le men, to make them 
' desist ; but before we got in the yard a quick firing com- 
V menced. On my'walking up the yard was met by a num- 
ber of prisoners retreating to their prisons, much alarm* 
"?*. ed ; one of which 1 observed was badly wounded; he 
"Was bleeding freely from his wound; I could see the 
yard was clear of prisoners, or not more thjfn two or three 
^ to be seen, and they were retiring fast. I requested the 

wounded man to lean on me, and I would assist him to 
some medical aid. We had not advanced but a few steps 
when we were fired on. I advanced, assu/irg the 30I- 
k . ' diery we had no hostile intentions. I then tcoV the fTJit" 
ipg man in my arms, when a volley of mus^^Jry was Hs- 
chafTged full at tis. I then retired immediately; thcro 



C 48 g^ , . 

was but one of my prison-(loor«iuulo-kcd, which was ou 
the 'i.'ick of tlic prison, (^n uirninp; thd* corner of the 
cook-.hou'^c I found myself ui^cxpectedly open to the fire 
of soldiers on the ramparts of the south ^va]l; their firo* 
■u-as kept up in so brisk a manner that it appeared almost, 
impflssihie to enter without beint^ shol ; biit findinj^ my. " <^ 
situation very danj^crous, I was determined to enter the 
prison or die in the attempt. For that purpose myself,* 
witii a number of others that had been standing behind . 

^ the wint^ of the cook-house, sallied out for the purpose- 
^, of g:aining o'lr prison d-jv^r, when a volley of musket balls 
TVcre showered in amongst us, killing two and wound- .« 

. ins: others. — On our entering the prisons our doors were ''.^*'%V^ 
shut to keep them from firing in. Some little time after ^.•^'-'^ - 
the turnkey inquired for me ; I went forward to the win- T"" ' 

• d^»^^; he requested mc to deliver \ip tbe dead and wotmd- , , 
'cd ; f requested him to open the door, which he did for 

• that ptirposc. On passincr out the dead and M^ounded> 
I was insulted by the soldiery, and on my replying was ■ 
charged upon, and with difficulty escaped without bet- 
ing butchered; thcjr likewise insulted the wounded as I 

^ gave them up; and threw the. dead down in the mud, 
and spurned at them in a very unfeeling manner. 

THOS. B. MOTT. 
• Nov 11. 
I, U'lliiani Mitchelij being .duly sworn upon the holy 
evangelists of Almighty God, depose and say*— 

That on the evening of the 6th of April, when the 
alarm bell commenced, I was in the lower part of No. I \ 

yard. I walked up towards the gate to leam the cause ; 
wlicn I had got about half way I heard a single musket 4. ;? 
iircd, and immediatelj'' a^ter a whole volley, I then saw- C"^ 
several men carrying one that was wbunded, the soldiers . P' * 
. keeping up the whole time ^ Steady fire, and the prison-^ ■'" > 
■crs all endeavouring to get into the prisons ; the lower* 
^ doors being closed in the interim, it was wish much dif-,^ w - . 

Ijculty they could get in^ and soldiers pursuing them the 
, Vhole time and charging on them with b-^yonets ; and . 
after getting into the prison, I heard the firing of mus-, 
ketry in all directions round the prison — and further the 
deponent saith not. WILLIAM MiTcHELL. 

♦ No. 12. • 

T, Jq/iv G. Gatchellj having been duly sworn, depose 
and say— 

That I was walking in the yard, towards the gate. Tha 



V 



urst I kn€W, was tl»e soldiers coming into the yafti, >nt}i 
> captain *^liortlancl at their head, \then an immediate fire 
> J)ci;an frofh the s6l(1icrs, and one mmi Icll within six feet 

of me. While in the act of rciuleiinp^ this man assist- 
' . , ; ahcc, I heard captain Shortlind ordcrthe soldiers to kill 
— ^ v<^^^ the damn 'd rascal — meanings n.c; immediately the sol- 
■ ^crs came and pricked me with their hay^ncis, and I 

( > .V-»'^vtis forced to run to the prison at the hazard of my life, 
' , • ,. and leave the man that was woimdcd, 



\^- 






' J' 



JOHN G. GATCIIELL. 



' %f ^^r ^^ '<^attic!} TdyUir havinpj been duly sworn, dcposctli-— • 
f?" "^',.That he was standinp: at the gate in the market square, ' 
V'*? at the lime captain Shorlland, with a file of soldiers, rtl-** 
tercd the square. Captain Shortland ordered a prisoner •»■' 
in the square to t^o into the prison, when he immediate* 
ly complied. He then ordered the soldiers to charge,! 
and instantly observed to the commanding officer of the 
military — " it Is no tise to charge on the damn'd yankec 
rascals — FIRF." — when this commenced immediately. 
The prisoners at tliis time were rushinp^ in the prisonS' 
as fast as possible, and principally out of the square. Af-^ 
tcr the prisoners AVei*c mostly iTi the prison of No. 4t 
a boy ol ten years of age, was shot through the body and . 
killed, while in the dOor passage trying to get in, by ihd 
iioUliefs in the yard, in my presence, I being inside the 
prison, likewise one other man was shot through the 
Ihiglv JAMES TAYLOR. ^ 

. No. 14 
, j- ^ Samuel Lorjihj Imving been duly ^worn, deposcth aS 
i J. ;. ^ follows: 

;^ v' ^* That he was \\\ the yard of prison No. 4, at the timtf 

\ * Robert Haywood was siiot by the soldiery. He immcdi- 

►' ' ^tcly took him up, for the purpose of carrying him t<> 

the hosi)ital. In the square he met captain Shortlanfl, 

/= and said, captain Shortlartd this man is very badly wound- 

y>*V «d — 1 want to carry him to the hospital. Captain Shorl-^ 

land replied, you damn'd son of a bitch carry him back 

[ to the prison; and he was obliged to comply. After 

getting to the prison, one of the soldiers called him back, 

and he went up to the square with the man, and met 

-Cflpt. Shortland, who said, heave him down there (p'^iint^ 

Ing to * sentry box) and away with you tq the prison^* 




- • 



4 



/ .^•'' ^— — ~. "^^N. J' /''yu 



¥ 



tt that time lh«y were firinq^ih tlie difTereht yards.* JS^-, 
leaving the squure we found the man was dead.: *;. 

SAMUEL LOWDY/^^ 

John Battier havint^ heen sworn, corroborates the eVi^^'^*f» 
dcncc of ijamuel Lowdy. JOHN DATTICE. 'x-^f^^' 

_ No. 15. H •^■^••♦^l^ 

TfilHam Potter^ having been duly sworn, deposed-^ 1'' ^^^V 

That while passinj^ between No. 5 and 6 prisons, tli^ ^, 
lioldicrs commenced firing from the walls in three div^- Vi- 
sions at a few of US', at that time there were only foiit^*-^ 
^prisnncrs in Bight. After advancing a few steps^.l found ' 
ia man badly wounded. I stoppedand picked the mah* 
up; during which time the soldiers kept an incessant .^'v ^ 
lire at us, as likewise till we got to the prison n" No. 5. 

WILLIAM POTTER. 
«» No. 16 ' s ,^ • \t ■ 

r, David S. jraircn^ being duly sworn on the holy 
evangelists of Almighty God, depose and say— 
^ That, on tlie evening of the 6th April, when the alarm 
commenced, I was in the lower part of the yard of No, 
1 prison. I walked up to the gate to learn the cause. 
J there saw there Ayere a number of prisoners in the mar^ "^ 
"Itct-square, and a great number of soldiers drawn up 
across the same ; soon after they charged on the prison- 
ers, who retreated out of the square into their respec- 
tive prison yards, and shut the gates after them. I saw 
tlie soldiers advance up to the gates, and heard captain 
Shortland order them to fwe, >vhich they not immediate- 
ly obeying, I saw him seize hold of a musket in the ■ 
rands of a Soldier and direct it towards a piisoner, and v 
heard him again repeat "^re— G&rf damn yoii^Jire 1^* 
Immediately afterwards the firing became general ; the >'^ 
prisoners were all endeavouring to get into the prisonsj 
^vhich was attended with much difficulty, all the doora , 
^Ut one being closed— and further the deponent saith not. ' .; ' 

DAVID S. WARREN. | 

No. 17. I 

\Letter from Mr. Beaslcy^ a^ent for American firisontrt 
of Tt/ar, at LondoiXy to the Committee of Jlmcrican firip 

■goners vf ivarin Dartmoor prison. 

Agency for American prlRoOers of war. 
London, jifiril 12, 1815. 
GENTLE^tEfJ— It having been itated in some of the 
tjewspapers published here, that the American govern* 
Vncftt intended to send some ships of wqjp, boumi to fhe . 






,^ 



51 j 



/ 



Jlediterrancan, to this cDUiiirvi for the purpose of com* 
plcting their crews ft-otn amontij the prisOnera; and har«^ 
,gw"^jng been informed tliat tlii^ idea has got among the pri* ' 
' J " >, soners, it becomes my duty to rnquest, that you will in* 

' v^fc^*^*^^*"^^^^"^ that the fact is not so< 

V v;W '' V I have already informed you of the Tivcasnres which 

■ \i ^ad been taken to provide conveyances for the |>nsoncr$. 

iy'V ^^^^ will let them know, that eiirht large transpoits haVo 

t^-,v^*v^>!jbecncnf;af^cd, some of which must now be at Plymouth; 

'4;*^ '"* others will follow, until the whole of the prisoners aro J 

i* ^r. . . Bent oflT , ^ 

%^0(^\i, ^ It is much to be lamented, thtt at a moment when 

I .*?i^l ' 5 *^^^f rXEftion was making to restore them to their coun«i| 

^J^X^ try, they should have failtn into an cxccfis U'hich haim 

**' Jirovcd 90 fatiil to fiome. And I am at a loss to concCW« 

how they could, under such circumstances, pretend ti 

say^ that ihe.causc of this tmforninate, but shiuTitful con 

duct, was the neglect of their government or its at^cnt 

This, I am informed, thry have stated to the oflicer^ 

%ho were sent to examine into the affair. -^* 

V ■ ' I am, gentlemen, your obedient Hervant^ 

R. G. BEASLEY.. 
Ta the committee of the ^meric^n') 
firisoncrB of tvar at Dartm-^oVo ^ 

., No. 18.' 
ni-iPLV to XHt. ABoiiP.. 

Dartmoor, Afiril 14. 
Str — Vours, of the 12th instant, hame to hand this 
jnorning. It is with astonishment we note its contcntSj 
that the officers Who came to enquire into the Circum- 

* Gtunccs of the late unfortunate aflfair, should have inform- 
.;■._, cd you, that the prisoners stated to them, the cause ol 

. that event was, that their government or its agent had 
\ neglected them. This is a most deliberate falsehood, let 

* your authors be who they may. Wc deny not, that the 
anxiety of the prisoners to get refeascd from hero liaS 

k • ; been great> they have even cefisurcd you as being dila 
(.t^J'T i" your preparations for tliat purpose— but thci 
. government they have never implicated — and you ma 
rest assured, that they have too much of the genuine spi- 
» rit of Americans to apply to the officers of a foreigi* 

l^oYcrnmcnt for relief, or to make a party in any dispute 
witb their own government or its agents. 

We solemnly assure you, that whatever anxiety a-* 
*no^^. the prisoners, or want of confidence in j^mir cxcfj^ 



y 






t 5-i -i >-" 

-^J^ons, ^as ahove'slatcd, may have dsi'stcft^ailiong tlietnT 
that it can in tif) ^vay be coiisiruc^-4:<riia>c tiny collusioii 
pr connexion with the late tv^iU; and was expressly so 
staletl to tljc admiral who came here from Plymouth. 'i-^i^; 
\Vc, on the contrary, in the name of the five thousand . V; * 
prisoners confi»»cd here, accuse Shortland of a deliberate^ ,., ^ . 
predetermined act of atrocious murder — we have stifli^. i;*^ 
-^jTCr.t evidence in our possession to prove thiy to th^ >^,i^ , 
world, and we call on you (there beine; at present no ac*»r :/>\;. 
rrtdiicd minister or charge des affaires at l' p.cotirt of -"^i*-. 
:L()''don) to make strict inquiries into the circimstaficcs - • 
of the case, and procure all the evidence necessary, for 'i^^J. . 
a proper invc3ti};ation into the same ;• for well do w6 feel ... > 
assured, that our government will not suffer its citizens 
to be sacrificed for the gratification of national prcju* 
dice, malice or revenge of the peily officers of a foreijju 
state. We are at no loss to impute the niisrepresenlatiou^ " 
of the British officers to tlieir proper motives. " - ■?*•>' 

They artfully wish to excite in your breast a spirit 0V : ■ 
^nnuty and resentment against the prisoners, that yot^^ .vV ,• 
might use less perseverance, or feel yourficlf less inter-»'i-. '^ f 
estod in making the proper inquiries into the late affair^. 
With much respect W€ remain, sir, your most obedV 
cnt and humble servant!) 

* • " WILLIAM HOB ART, 

^ >v» WALTER COLTON, ' 

HENRY ALLEN. 
Jt^ G. Bcastci/y esq. ageti^ ^fbr American 
firisoners of war^ at London. 

No. \9. 
J^etter from Mr. Bcasley to the brforc-nientibiied coHij 

mittee._ 
Agency for Ameri«an prisoners of war. ^ 

London., April 14, 1814. 
, Gentlemen — My letter to you of the I2tli instant, Oi> 
•the subject oF the melancholy event, was written under 
impression which I received from a report of it, trans- 
mitted to mc by this government : 1 have since received" 
your report of the circumstances. — Had I b^en in pos- 
session of the information therein corit^ined, that letter 
would have been differently expressed. > 

R. a BEASLE.Y. 

2 the committee of the American > ' n 

firivoncrs of vfar^ at Dartmoor, y ••^* 



I 



ijSjf'W}^ 



C 53 3 



j,V"»-V *■ J 



*" '• t subjofn an extract of the report alliiflt;d to from the* 
j lords comnlissioners of the admiralty ;-^ 

' ' . EXTUAC r. 

■*tl'%' " '^''*^ rioters, it appears, endeavored to overpower the. 
guard, to force the prison, and had actually seized the 
K,o^fe'vi*arrn% of some of the soldiers, and made a breach in the 
I HS'4'^^''^ ^* the dej)ot, Avlien the p:uard found itself obliged 
I ^^ -f to have recourse to tlieir fire-arms, and five of the riot- 
l/>'-iV^* *^^ were killed and thirty-four Avounded, after which the 
! * **t tUnuitt subsided, and the depot was placed in a state of,' , 

||>^r*;; Ifanquility and security. 



i;f:|^ Adniiial sir J. T. Duckworth, commander in chief at 
. w *;* »>r-i'^vmo\uh, havinn: received information of this urifortu-%, 
4*; r»aie c^ent, lost no time in dircciint^ rcar-adnnral sir Jo-. 
sias Rowley, bart. and K. C. B. and caj)lain Scliornbcr!T, 
the two senior olTiccrs al that post, to proceed to Dart- 
, V moor sind to inquire into the circumstances : Those ofli* 
c€rs accordingly repaired to the depot. Where they found, 
j5'-sf»0n examination of the olljccrs of the depot and all the* 
American prisoners who were called before them, that 
^vf^-«^thc circumstances of the riot were as before stated; but ' 
that no excuse could be assigned for the conduct of the. 
prisoners, but their Impatience to be released, and the 
Americans unanimously declared, that their complaint of 
delay was not against theJBritish government, but against 
their own, which ought to Jiave sent means for their early 
conveyance home, and in replies to distinct questions to 
that effect, they declared thcj^ had no ground of com-' 
plaint whatsoever." " * 
^- No. 20. ' 

, f. Dartmoor, J/iril 17, 1815. 

i^.. To Eear-admii'al sir J. 7\ Dnckioorth. 

■ . 5.; Sir — The ofitcers whom you sent to this place to en- 
,' quire into the circumsstances of the unfortunate occur* 
rence of the 6th instant, whatever right they had to re- 
" present the conduct of captain Shortland in the most 
favorable manner, wc conceive it an act of gross injus- 
^ tice that they should have given to you such a fak;e and 
scandalous representation of what they were told by the 
* prisoners, 
%■' In the report from the admiralty board to Mr. Beasley 

. >i (a copy of which was transmitted to us) it is stated, that 
t:J5irej ^r^ttJie prisoners, when called upon to give an accountof the 
^t^r eircujnstances of llic 6lh, exonerated captain Shoitlatid 
l;.?'v and the English government from all blsinriC respecting 



I 



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■'<^'- 




C 5* I. 



, it 



{Jic taiue, anil accused their owh government am! ifj 
agent of being the cause. 

We, on tlie conUary, solemnly declare, tliat it was ex- '*^ 
prcssly Slated to admiral Ruwley, tlial whatever anxiety /> 
miijht have existed atnonc^thc prisoners, for a speedy re*, 'fj^^ 
fea3c, could, in no way whatever, be construed to have ^ 
had any collusion or connexion with that evert. Thai * 
^he \)risoners, so far from havinj^ any idea of a^tempting^ -y 
to break out, if the gates had been opened and every pnc' • * 
'vUiTercd to go who mi|;ht wish to do so, not oneln a huh-;-, 
dred would liave left the prison, having no means dtsub-.'i/' 
sibtcncc in a foreign country, and being likewise liable V 
lo imprcssnicnt; wher, by staying a few days longer/.^,) 
ilicy wciuld, probably, be cmbarkcil fot their native coutt- '^'^ 
vy. ....,- y^ 

1 hey, on tl c contrary, accused captain Shortland of>'^ 
bcini; the sole n»over and principal perpetrator bf lh«* 
unprovoked ajid horrid butchery. > .^ 

Conceiving, from your well-ki. own character in the 
Diitish navy for integrity and cr.ndor, that you would nol - 
^ish to have your name the medium of imposing such a ./ 
j»ross mi»represen.tation and such direct falsehoods on 
ihc admiralty -board and the British public, wc have tak- 
en tlie liberty ..of thus addressing you, and have the ho- 
noi^to subscribe burbclvc* your niost obedient and very 
Ifumllc- 5c »* Vaj) V^/ 1} {rjV>??V ('* . . r 

•^iyi^^5:^>^» :-:^;WILLIA]NI IIOBALT, 
.'-^ T ;?^?y:" WALTER COLTON 

HENRY ALLEN, . 

THOMAS B. MOTT. f 
Wm. B ORNE. f 

Commktee of the American firisonenh 
- t)f %var^ at Dartmoor, 

Cty cf JVciu-Yorkj s3. 

^J'i./iloafd TuyloTy late commander t^f the Paul Jones 
privaie arnicd vessel of Wiir, being duly awoin^doth de* .»' 
pose and say— :,.. 

That he wc.s a prisoner at Dartmoor prison at the tiradVv ' 
of the late massacre of the Americans ; that after the* 
affair of the 6ih of April, and on the hight of the sanle- 1 
(lay, he was in the prison No. 3, assisting of Thomas | 



amith, late his boatswain, who was shot through his le^ | 
l)y the soldiers in the yard, when an order was received^ 

i 



to K'ive all 4t6 wouiiclipU r^ratyved from the prisons to tho v 



•^f>ir — 111! Kl. li I «» 'V — *— <iW»^~'7'it>>ii 



I * hosp'it*!— and Trhile this deponent was c?ri^'ing tlic said 

f 7 .Thomas Smith to the door of the prison, to deliver him 

.'> to the guards selected to receive liim, some of the sol- 

f • 'V^ diets observed to this deponent, ** This is in turn for the 
*A tv^^^i affair at Ncw-Orlcans, where you killed our men, and 
i^ J^&^- V'i^ow we have our revenge"-— and further this deponent 
K :|,^5 «auh rot. ARCHIBALD TAYLOR. 

^■-•^^ \^> 6'.Yorn before mc this 28th June, 1815. 
^Vf^^.Vltj^^ ; AARON H. PALMER, 

'^yt^"^^^ ' ,- . JVotary Public. 

^>;^ >:/ >\V*, the undersigned, beini; each severally sworn on the 

" 'V>S^"*^ ^'<^dy evangelists of Almighty God, for the investigation 

\'^r:.'^//>^. of Uie circumstances atti iidinij the late horrid mas- 

f '^-- ""^'A sdcre, and having heard the deposition of a great num- 

Bcr of witnesses from our C)Wn personal knowledge,- 

*■ "'•^ <■ and from the depositions given in as aforesaid, 

'y-^^Ji.t .' -^ Rtponr AS poi.Lows : 

'^'" THAT e^ the eth of April, about 6 o'clock in the 



i 






^'.<:t 



r* 



evening, when the prisoners were all quiet in their res 
Jicclive yards, it being about the usual time of turninc«^ 
in for the night, and tl.e greater part of tlie prisoners 
being then in the prisons, the alarm bell was rung, and 
many of the prisoners ran up to the market square to 
. Jtarn the occasion of the alarm There were then drawn 
<> up in the square, several hundred soldiers, with captain 

Shortland (the agent) at their head, it was likewise ob- 
. served at the same time, that additional numbers of sol- 
diers were posting themselves on the walls round the 
^ prison yards. One of them observed to the prisoneis^ 

I thc't they had better go into the prisons, for they Mould 

^ \>v charged upon directly. This, of course, occasioned 

^ considerable alarm among them. In this moment of un- 

certainty, they were running in different directions en» 
tiuiring the cause of the alarm— some towards their res- 
pective prisons and some towards the market square. 
When about one hundred were collected in the squarci 
captain Shortland ordered the soldiers to charge upon ^ 
*^* them, which order the soldiers were reluctant in obey- 
Jt'- Hng, as the prisoners were using no violence; but on th& 
^ order being repeated, they made a charge, and the pii- 
soners retreated out of the square into their prison yards^ 
and shut the gates after them. Captain Shortland him- 
self, opened the gates, and ordered the soldiers to fire 
in among the prisoners, who were all retreating in dif-* 
fercm directions towards their respective prisons, Ili^. 



\,/ 



i 



^ 



K 



J 



\;f:pcar3 tfierP was some Iicsitation in tlie minds of the* 
ofliccr^i whclliur ov not it was proper to fire upon the 
])lison^'rs in that situation ; on which Shortland seized 
a innskct out of the iiands of a soldier, which lie fired, 
Ininicdialcly after, the fire became {general, and many of 
the prisoners were cither killed or wounded. The re* /".- 
niaindcr were endcavorini^ to get into the prisons when .Hi,, 
goini; towards the loM'er doors, the soldiers on the walls"'-'^^^,' . 
commenced i\\•\^^^; on them from that quarter, which' /^^.^ 
killed some and wounded others. After much difficulty^ .^X 
• (all the doors being closed in the entiat>ce, but one ia l^\ 
each prison) the survivors succeeded in gaining the pri' '',:•'. . 
sons; inmiediatcly after which, parties of soldiene came *i 

to the doors of Nos. 3 and 4 prisons, and fired several' . ^ *- 
vollics into them through the windows and doors, which 
l;ilk;d one man in each prison, and several wounded. 

It likewise appears, that the preceding butchery was fC 
followed Up with a disposition of peculiar inveletacy and 
barbarity. 

One man who was severely wounded in No. 7 prison 
yard, and being unable to make his way to the prison, 
was come up with by the soldiers, whom h"e implored 
with for mercy, but in vain, five of the hardened wretch- 
L, cs immediately levelled their pieces at him, and shot him 
^ dead on the spot. The soldiers who were posted on the 
walls, manifested eq»ial cruelty, by keepine: up a con- 
' stant fire on every prisoner tliey could see in the yards 
endeavouring to []:et in (he prison, when their numbers 
were very few, and when not the least shadow of resist- 
ance could be made or expected. Several of them had J, 
'got into No. 6 prison cook-house, which was pointed out f 

I by the soWiers on the walls, to those who were yi.arch- ^ 
' ^ ing in from the square — they immediately went/up and 

fired into the same, which wounded several — one of the _^ 
prisoners rautout with the intention of gaining his prison, <^4 
i^''» but was killed before he reached the door. * 

On an impartial consideration of all the circumstances v^ ^y 
of the case, wc are induced to believe thai it was a pre--i^ '^ 
meditated scl.eme in the mind of captain Shortland, for -^^ T 
reasons which we will now proceed to give — as an ciu- '^ 
cidption of its origm we will recur back to an event which / 
happened some days previous. Captain Shortland was . ? 
at thf time absent at Plymouth, but before going he j 

ordered the contractor or his clerk, to serve out one 
•pciind of indiiTercnt hwd bread, instt-ad of onc^ pound ond : 



r.:iai>wMB E-»«-- *> ^"Pt;"i; -.-■;«i>jya i^fi i r i, ' . i i ^ , . , ..» Mtm.wm -— — -^ — ' ■ ; ■' " • m^i ■ 



t *ir"^ 



/ 



4h b«[lf of soft breadj their tlsual allonahce — this the 

r^risoners refused to receive — ihcy waited all day in ex-- 

nectation of their usual allowance bcinp ficrvcd out, hut 

^K sunset) finding; this would r.ot be the case, burst open 

the lower f^atcs, and went up to the store, demanding to 

^- I -ihave their bread. 

"it^'i'ij. The officers of the garrison on being alarmed, and in- 
■•.v 'jffovmed of these proceedings, obh.erved it was no more 
■ si^* ■• tftiii right the prisoners should have their usual allow- 
,55^^-]^<5ance, and strongly reprobated the conduct of c? plain ^ 
'\ . vSh'ortland in withholding it fronj them— they wcrt^ ac- ' 
i*.'; vJ^.^co^^'^g^y served with tht-ir bread, and quietlt returned 
''}lr*^v^j''t<> their prison. This circumstance, with the censures 
''•'^v'-./ that were thrown on his conduct, reached the cars of 
^"tthortlaiid on his return home, and must tlxn have dc- 
.*!tetmined on the diabolical plan of seizing the first slight 
>.pretext to turn in the military to butciitr the prisoners 
; , Jbr th.c gratification of his malice and rcvtngc. It un- 
' ibrtunately happened, that in the afternoon of the r)th of 
April, some boys who were playing ball in No. 7 yard, 
knocked their bal! over into the barrack yard ; on the 
sentry in that yard refusng to throw it back to thcmj^; 
«-hcy picked a hole in the wall to get in after it. 

This afforded Shortland his wished-for pretext, and he 
took his measures accordingly; he had all the garrison 
drawn up in the military walk, additional numbers post- 
ed on the Walls, and every thing; leady prepared, before 
the alarm bell was rui^g; this he naturally concluded, 
would draw the attention of a p;rcat number of prison- 
ers towards the ^ates, to learn the cause of the alarm, 
' ^ while the luriikcys were dispatched into th6 yards, to 
- lock all the doers but one of each prison, to prevent the^ 
, prisoners retreating out of the way before he had suffi- 
;■;. ciently wreaked his vengeance. i 

i What adds peculiar weight to the belief of its being 
^' a premeditated, determined massacre, are, 
1^ Jursi — The sanguinary disposition manifested on eve- 
ry occasion by Shortland, he having, prior to this time> . 
^ordered the soldiers to fire into the prisons, through the 
^prison window.s, upon unarmed prisoners asleep in their 
hammocks, on account of a light l^eing seen in the pri- 
i , i.*ons; which barbarous act was repeated several nights 
successively. That murder was not then committrd, was 
1^^ OAving to an overruling Pro\id<nce alone; Jor the i idls 
IV^nk f'-l^erc picked up in the prison, where they passed through 



M 






mi mmtHi]^ ^m^if^mm 




•I 58 ''> 



\hc fiamTTiocks of men then asleep in them. He Tiavihi? 
also ordcrcil the soldiers to fire upon the prisoners in 
the y:ircl of No. 7 piison, because they would not dell* 
vcr up to hiiTi a man who had escaped from his tatchof^ 
Vliicli order the Com!n:u,dini5 officer of the soldiers re- 
fused to obey; and ji{;cncrally, he havini; seized on even', 
light pretext to injure the prisoners, by stopping thci* 
liiarkettirjg for ten clays repeatedly, and once a thiidpart " .; 
of their provision for the same length of time. '*/'''-* -.*:;lf^J<|i'. 
ScconJly — He having been heard to sfly, vv'hcn th9^V4^ '\ 
fjoys liad picked the hole in the wall, and some tim0 be* -^ 
foic the alarm bell rung* while all the prisoners, wer^ "^v; i^ 
fjuict as usual in the respective yards — ^"iV/ Jix //ip^'v'^f 
dnmn*(i rascals directly.''* ■.■»"''.' 

Thirdly — fiis having all the^soldiers on their posts> 
and the garrison fully prepared before the alarm bell 
rung. It could not then, of course, be furig to asseiU* 
\)le the soldiers, but to alarm the prisoners, and create !:*"»' 
'confusion among them. i 

i^oj/n/r/?/— The soldiers upon the wall, previous to th<J i\,i 
alarm bell being rung, informing the prisoners that thcjf ?^rf^ 
would be charged upon directly. 

Fifthly — The turnkeys going into the yards and clos- \ 
ing all the doors but one in each prison, while t^ie atten- 
tion of the prisoners was attracted by the alarm bell. 
Tins was done about fifteen minutes sooner than usual,^ 
and without informing the prisoners it was time to shuf ■'. 
up. It was ever the invariable practice of the turnkeys, "*3 
from which they never deviated before that night, whea 
coming into the yard to shut up, to halloo to the prison- V '• 
crs, so loud as to be heard throughout the yard, '•^ turn -^ * 
i>i, twn in /'* while on that night it was done so secretly 
*lhat not one man in a hundred knew they were shut; ; ' 
and in particular their shutting the door of No. 7 prison^ t' 
■^tvhich the prisoners usually g8 in and out at, [and which > 
Was formerly always closed last] and leaving one open • 
in the other end of the prison, which was exposed to a 
cross-fire from the soldiers on the walls, and which the . 
prisoners had to pass in gaining the prist n^i \ 4- 

\k appears to us that the foregoing reasons sufficient- : 
ly warrant the conclusion we have drawn therefrom. '■ .1 " 
We likewise believe, from the depositions of metf ' j 
who were eye-witnesses of a part of Shortland's con- ^ j 
duct on the evening of the eth of April, that he was in^ | ^ 
IO.s^icatcd wij;h liqiior at the time j^ from his bimali*^- m> / 



.«7' " '< ' ^—i^^'mmmm 



1.; 



; ^ 

>fTatinj^ ji prisoner then supportiiij^ anolViri- se\creTf 
-Voundcfl; IVom the blackguard and abusive lanc^uaj^c ht 
tnadc use of, and from his having frequently been ?»ccn 
. In the same state. His being drnnk was of course the 
Iticans ofinflaminp his bitter enmity apjainstlhe prisoners 
•nd no doubt was the cause of the indiscriminate butch- 
,:'i e;ry, and of no quarter beinc; shewn 

■y- ' We here solemnly aver, that there was no preconccrt- 

... . tJtljilan to attempt hreakijip; out. There cannot be pro- 

V'^^':^^ duced the least shadow of a reason or inducement fo» 

♦ thai intention, the prisoners daily expecting to be re- -' 
ty..' leased, and to embark on board cartels Top their native 
;S|'i ^t^untry. And we likewise solemnly assert, that thejc 
^/.;v^ .%a^ no intention of resisting, in any manner, the author-^ 
•■::ity of this depot. 

J^f, S, Seven were killed, thirty dangerously wounfl- 
-td, and thirty slightly do. Total, sixty-seven killed a»d 
^oupded. , i.^*; (Signed) 

Wm/B. dnNK, ' JosKPH F. Troiiridot?, 

> ^ • Wm. Hob art, ' John Rust, 

i^ ■'''■'*: Jamks Bogos Henry Ai.len, 

James Adams* Walter Coi.to?:, 

Francis Josfirii, Thomas B. INIott. " ' 

* ' Co?umitt^e. 

Dartmogr PriaOTiy AiirilT^ .815. " 

Plymouth^ '20thJ/nil^\PA 5. 

^ We, the underngncd commissioners, appoiitcd on b»* 

|4alf of our respective p;ovcrnments, to enipiire into and 

,j^portupon, the unfortunate occurrence of the 6th April 

^ inst. at Dartmoor prison; having carefully perused the 

proceedings of the several roiirts of enquiry instituteci j. , 
-.'immediately after that event, by the orders of admiral sir , » 
John T. Duckworth and major general Brown, respec- ' 
^ tively, as tvell as the depositioris taken at the coroner's 
Inquest upon the bodies of the prisoners who lost theii* ';f: 
lives upon that melancholy occasion; upon which inquest "I 
the jury found a verdict of justifiable homicide; pro- '"3 
cecded immediately to the examination upon oath,ii) tlio 
presence of one or more of the vicinity, of all the wit- 
nesses, both American and English, who offered ihcm- 
Belves for that purpose; or who could be discovered at 
hkely to afford any material information on tlic subject, 
*"B well those who had beC\i previously examined before 
« coroner, as Otherwise, to the number in the whoie 



%. 






V t 60 y : ■ 

r>T about ciglity. We further proceeclfd {» a minute^::-' ' 
niii'n^tion of the prisons, for the purpose of cleiirijjg ujs 
some points which upon the evidence alone Were scarcc-%- 
ly inlelli'^ible; obtaining:; from .tlie Jirisotidrs, and fromi 
tlie officers of the depot, all the necessary assistance and* 
explanation; and premising, th^t we have been from ne-^ 
ccsslty compelled to draw many of our conclusions from - 
statements and evidence highly contradictory, we do 
now iHake upon the whole proceedings the following re-s^ / 
port: ^ • •; ; V- i» ' 

During the period which has elapsed since the arrival> 
in this country of the account of the ratification of the*t 
treaty of Ghent, a,n increased degree of restlessness ant^ » 
impatience of confinement appears to have prevailed* 
amongst the American prisoners at Dartmoor, which^' 
ihoitgh not cxhil)iicd in the shape of any violent excess- ' 
es, i»as been principally indicated by threats of breaking) 
out if not soon released. Vt • 

On the 4t]i of this month in particular, only two days* 
previous to the events the subject of this enquiry, a. 
large body of the prisoners rushed into the market- 
square, from whence, by the regulations of the prison^ 
they are excluded, demanding bread instead of biscuit, 
which had on that day been issued by the officers of the 
depot; their demands, however, having been then almost 
immediately complied with, they returned to their own 
yards, and the employment of force on that occasion be- 
came unnecessary. 

On the evening of the 6th, about six o'clock, it waa* 
clearly proved to us, that a breach or hole had been 
.made in one of the prison walls, sufHcient for a full size^ / 
man to pass, and that others had been commenced in the 
course of the day near the same spot, though never com-', 
pic ted. -f^* 

. That a number of tlic prisoners were over the railing^ 
erected to prevent tiicm from communicating with the 
centinels on tl o walls, which was of course forbidden 
^ by the regulations of the prison, and iliat in the spagcv ' 
between the railing and those walls they were tearing 
up pieces of turf, and wantonly pelting each otheiT in av^ 
noisy and disnidcrly manner. | 

That a much more considerable number of the prison- 
ers was collected together at that time in one of their, 
yards near the place where the breach was effected, and? 
ch^ although 9ucU collection of prisoners was not umi-v 



;?yw— T"*^**" /^ 



t 61 



>'-Vi,; 




-, ft 



"BTial at Other times (the gamblinj^ tables bci/Ij* common- 
ly kept in that part of the yard) yet ^vhca4^onncctc{l wKll 
the circ\imstancc9 of the breach, and the time of the 
day, which was after the hour the signal for tlie prison- 
ers to retire to their TC"Rpcciivc prisons had ceased to 
«ound,it became a natural and just ground, of alarm to 
. ' to those who had charge of the depot. 

* • It was also in evidence that in the building formerly 
1^. * *thc petty officers' prison, but now the guard barrack* 

* ■-'; ' ■\yhich stands in the yard to which the hole in the wall 
1 . ' , ,^^0"^^^ serve as a communication, a part of the arms of 

^rf^''^ the guard who were off duty, were usually kept in the y 
[^-'\':nckL and though there was no ctidence that this was '' 
' ^ii^'B^in any respect the motive which influenced the prison- 
. frs to make the openinii: in the wall, or even that tliey 
•A'crc ever acquainted with the fact, it naturally became 
at lea^t a further cause of suspicion and alarm, and an 
' : , - additional reason for precaution. 

**f^fv' ►• Upon these groimds captain Shortland appears to UJ 
,to have been justified in giving the order, which about 
this time he seems to have given, to sound the alarm bell, 
the usual signal for collecting the officers of the depot 
and putting the mihtary on the alert. 

However reasonable and justifiable this was as amoac- 
.-sure of precaution, the effects produced thereby iti the 
prisons, but which oould not have been intended, were 
most unfortunate, and deeply to be regretted. A con^- 
siderable number of the prisoners in the yards where nd 
tiistm-bances existed before, and who were either alrea- 
dy within their respective prisons, or quietly rctirins: as 
usual towards them, immediately upon the sound of the 
bell rushed back from curiosity (aa it appears) towards 
the gates, where, by that time, the crowd had a^^semblcd, 
, and many who were at that time absent from their 

y vards, were also, from the plan of the prison, compelledf 

in order to reach their own homes, to pass by the saine 
spot, and thus that which was merely a measure of pre- 
, ' -caution, in its. operation increased the evil it was intcnd- 

* ed to prevent. 
;^.i\ Almost at the same instant that the alarm bell rang, 

'X}m\. whether before or subsequent is Upon the evidence 
tloubifuU though captain Shortland stales it positively 
as one of his further reasons for causing it to ring) some 
<)ne or more of the prisoners broke the iron chain, which 
^ was the only fastening to Nj. I gate, leading into ma»^^ 

F ^ 



i 



^ 



f 62 3 






kcl square, \y means of an iron bar; and a very^onsidtf * 
able number ot" the prisoners immediately rushed to* ' 
Vards that gate; and many of them began to press for* 
^yards as fast as the oponinp would permit in the square. 
There was no direct proof before us of previous con- 
cert or preparation on the part of the prisoners, and no 
evidence of their intention or disposition to effect theif ' 
escape on tliis octtasion, excepting that which arose by 
inference from the whole of the above detailed circurtl* "/* 
ctancc'^onnccted togetlier. '-\^J * 

The natural and almost irresistable iiiference to "be ^'** 
"drawn, however, from the conduct of the prisoners by 
captain Shortland and the military was, that an intention 
vn the part of the prisoners to escape was on tiie point "' !^ 
of bchig carried into execution, and it was at least cer* ,''''. 
. tain that they were by force passing beyond the limits 
prescribed ^o them at a time when they ought to have 
been quietly going in for the night. It was also in evi- -ft>;, 
dencc that the outer gates of the market square were -^^ 
usually opened about this time to let the bread waggon 
pass and repass to the store, although at the period^ in ,, t 
question they were in fact closed. 

Under these circumstances, and with these impress- 
ions necessarily operating upon his mind, and a know- 
ledge that if the prisoners once penetrated through the 
square, the power of escape was almost to a certainty f 
. afforded to them, if they should be so disposed, Capt. ' ^ 
Shortland in the first instance proceeded down the square 
towards the prisoners, having ordered part of tlie differ- 
ent guard, to the number of about fifty only at first, 
-(though they were increased afterwards) to follow him. 
yorsome time both he and Dr. Magrath endeavored by 
• A^uiet means and persuasion, to induce the prisoners to 
» retire to their own yards, explaining to them the fatal 
consequences which must ensue if they refused, as the 
- iTiilitary would in that case be necessarily compelled to 
, jemploy force. The guard was by this time formed in 
. the rear of capt. Shortland, about two thirds of the way ,; 
down the square — the latter is about one hundred feet ^ •* 
t)road, and the guard extended nearly all acrt)ss. Capt.' ^ 
'Shortland, finding that persuasion was all in vain, and j 

that though some were induced by It to make an effort to _^ 

^-etire, others pressed on in eonsideriible numbers, at last ] 

:>jrdere<i ^bout fifj^een file of the guard, nearly in front oT . 






/ 



fhcj gatb which had been forced, to charge tfic prisoners 
' ^ack to their own yards. ^ * * 

The prisoners were in some place* so near tlie milita- 
J*f , that one of the soldiers states thar he could not conto 
', - lairljr down to the charge; the military were unwilling 
V and reluctant to retire, and some pushinj^ and strngijlinj^ 
^ ensued hctwcen the parties, arisin^j partly from intention, 
r .^: but mainly from the jMessiire of tliobc behind prevcnt- 
>^;,^ing those in front froiTL.\^eltinp^ back. After some little 
• /. time, liowcvcr, this chari^c appears to have been so far 
^rv/cfiectJvc, and that \vith little or no injury to llic prison- 
ers, as to ha\T driven them for the n'lost partqtiitc down ). 
J./.-;^*/ vOtit of the square, \vith the exception of a small num- > 
.i^^^^^ "Who continued their resistance about No. 1. gate. 

■^Q' ^ great crowd still remained collected after this in the 
• v^ passage between the square and the prisoners' yards m 
'the vicinity of the gates. This assemblage still refused 
^^'^ to withdraw, and according to most of the English wit- - 
nesses, and some of the Amciican, wa^ mjiking a noise, 
hallooinp^, insulting, and provoking, and daring the mili- 
v'^ y.y,tary to fire, and according to the evidence of several of 

the soldiers, and some others, was peliirg the military < 
with large stones, by which some of them were actually ' 
struck. — This circumbtance is however dciiicri by many 
of the American witnesses; and some of the English up- . 
^ on having the question put to them, stated ihey saw no 

I stones thrown previously to the firing, although their 
^;^|.y situation at the time was such as to enable them to see 
t, '; most of the other proceedings in the square. i 

y Under these circumstances the firing comnienced.— . 

With regard to any order having been given to fire, the 
.evidence is very contradictory Several of the Ameri- ? 
..'tcans swear positively, that captain Shortland gave thil 
order, but the manner in which, from the confusion of 
tire moment, they describe this part of the transaction, i». , ' 
fit) different in its details, that it is very difficult to recon- 
.?,cile their testimony. Many of the soldiers and othef " 
l'^^ " '^."^"^^'^^ witnesses, heard the word given by some onr, ^ 
^^ii-i?^^^^ "° *^^^ of them can swear it was by capt. Shortland> ' 
' " ' \V or by any one in particular, and some, amongst whom is 
the officer commanding the guard, think, if capt. Short- 
land bad given such an order that they must have heard' 
it, wmch they did not. In addition to this, capt. Short- 
s^ land denies the fact; and from the situation in which he 

appears to ha\'^ been placed at the time, even according.! 



i 



\ ■ ! ■■/■' • 

to the Ainei-itan witnesses, in front of the soIdiersV»t may 
ajipcar some \v"hat improbable that he should then have 
givni such an order. • f-.-^r-r^Vfi'i' 

But, hoM over, it may remain a rrtMtcr of 'doubt whcthcf' 
the firing first began in the square by order, or was a' ^> 
spontaneous act of the soUliers themselves, it seemed .''^' 
. clear that it was continued and renewed both there and .?* 
<»Isewhcrc without orders; and that on the platformsj-*."^^'!- 
and in^tm^eral places about the prison, it was certainly '^V'^'^ 
commenced witiiout any authoiity. - v- ■' ,'^*tu^^i 

The fact of an order having; been piven at first, pro- ]"'; 

i VJdcd the firinr> was under the existing; circunislancee, ' 

t jdhiiliable. does not appear vciy material in any othef ..h't- 
poiiUof view than as shewini; a want f f self-posj^cssioUj -r^ri^-'v 
*and discipline in the troops^ if they sliouldhave fired ^viii'l- 

■ "without oider^ t ^'•'' 'Cv:'. 

, With rei^ard to the above mo<it important considcra-. ''V-' ' 
tion, of whcthccthc firint; was justifiable or nbt, wc are'y?:A- 
of opinion undcrall the circumstances of the case, froiil'' "t^v^- 
the apprehension which the soldiers mif^ht fairly enter-.^i7:";;rft 
tain, owint;- to the numbers and conduct of the prisoners, ^<^/^r 
that this firir.j; to a certain extent was justifiable in a mi- ■^■''"' 
litary point of view, in order to intinudate the prisoners, 
and compel them thereby to desist from all acts of vio- 
Iciice, and to retire as they were ordered, from a situa- 
tion in which the responsibility ot the agents, and the • 

military, could not permit thwn with safety to remain. , 

, ' From the fact of the crowd being so close, and tho 
firmg; at first' being attended with very little injury, it :v 
appears probable that a large proportion of the muskets 
were^ as stated by one or two of th<^ witnesses, levelled, 
over the heads of the prisoners ; a circumstance in some *. 
lepects to be lamented, as it induced them to cry out ^ 
" blank cartridges,'* and merely irritated and encourag-*,^ , 
cd them to renew their insults to the soldiery, whicti * 
produced a repetition of the firing much more destruc* 
live. «. , ^^ 

The firing in the square having continued for somt 
time, by which several of the prisoners sustained inju- ; # 
lies, the greater part of them appear to have been run- 
ning back with the utmost precipitation and confusion 
to their respective prisons, and the cause for further fir- 
ing seems at this period to have ceased. It appears ac- 
cordingly that capt. Shortland was in the market square 
eRerting J\rm«clf and giving, orders to that effect, anA^ ' 



>.»»«ui-ri«-i».T" flj;'y^ 



ij"' ^»' 



C ^' 3 



> 



/ 



^ 



/ - 



•: 






Ihnt lieut. "Ifortye hat] Bticcecdcd in stopping the fire of 
', - .ijis part- of the guard. 
^f; '/. Under these circumstances it is very difficult to find 
^ any justification for the further continuance and renewal. 
'*.$;,>r*of- the firinrj wluch certainly took j.lace both in the pri- 
;?'V|^»*oTi. yards and elsewhere ; though we have some evidence 
''/iri^. <..f subsequent provocation given to the military, and 
resistance to the turnkeys in shutting the prisons, and 
cf stones being thrown out from Mrithin the prison doors. 
The subsequent firing rather appears to have arisen ij 
;^Y^.> from the state of individual irritation and extspcialion 
:V;yI^ t)n the part of the soldiers who followed the prisonera 
*'/' into thoir yards, and from the absence of nearly all tlicr 
:'■■ ; ufiiccra who mitrht have restrained it; as well as from 
/ %^3'^^^ gr^af difiicully of putting an end tb ,a firing when 
•v'^S'^i^'.vtincc con\menced under such rjrcunvstuiets. Captaiu 
--:Vvr-"5[,Qy^laj^^l '/^^v^^g from tliis tin»c . -busily occupied with the 
.^+Oi^V.irnkrys in the square, receiving and taking care of the - 
v*w/^«j^.nv(nindcd. Ensign White remained with his guard at ' 
the breach, rnd lieuts. Avelyne andFoityc', the only other 
subalterns known to have been present, continued ii> 
V the sqiiaix with thft ivi.in bodies of their respective 
guards. 

The liine of the day, which was the 'officers' dinner 
. ' hour, will in some measure explain tins, a^ it c*tffecd '] 
•the absence of §very cfFicer from the* prison whose pre- 
sence was not indispensable tjierc. And this circum-* 
^.stance which has been urged as an argument to prove 
^ , -the intention of the prisoners to take this, opportunity to 
■ cticapc, tended to increase the confusion, and to f>re- 
*tvcnt those great exertions being made which might per- ' 
'.'^haps have olviated a portion at least of the misciiicf 
which ensued. 

At the same time that the firing was going on in thcr '| 
" squire, a cross fire was also kept up from several or 
the platforms on the walls round the prison where ihc^j 
Sentries stand, by straggling parties of soldiers who ran 
up there for that purpose. As far as this fire was di- 
rected to disperse the men assen bled round the brcachi 
for which purpose it was most effectual, it seems to 
stJlnd upon the same ground as that in the first instance 
in tlie square. But that part which it is positively sworn 
was diVected against straggling pavties of prisoners 
running about the yards and endeavoring to enter in the' 
•^few doors wl'.ich Ihe turnkeys, according to their usual 

t % 



^ 






V 



piacdco, !iad left open, does seem as ftiatecj, to tiaV^s- 
btcii vvl.oily without oi)JLCi or excuse, and liavtf been a 
V auLoii attuck upon the iivcs of defcfictltss, and at thai 
ihnc; tuiC/fTcndirg individi^als 
Ii.^c s'.mic, or even more 
n\a>k iipt n what was proved as to tut iirinr into the dooi^ 



•y \ 



sunc, or even more severe terms, we must Tc- , 






Vays o! the prisons, more partiLularly into that of Nq. - 
J prison, at a time -when the men were in crouds at the ^ 
.'iiLi^iiiLq. I'Vtim the pasiUoti tif iht? prison and ivf th.e 
t doo;-, and from the-mai'hs of the balls which were point- -^l'^ 
' cu out to us, as well as frojn tlic evidence, it was clcarT^,^^" 
>this r«rii\<^ must have proceeded from soldiers a very fe\¥'A,V'u 
fv-et iio:n the door- way; and akhoin?,ii it was certainljr^-.'" ' 
sworn th.it tl\e prisoners were at the time of part of the 
fiiing at least, continuing to insult and occasiunally \&'. ' 
■throw stones at tlie soldie/s, and that they were stand- -^'< 
ing in the way of, and impeding the turnkey, who was 
there for tl^e purpose of closing the door, yet still ihero 
was nothing slated which could in our view at all justify % <;, 
bueh excessively liarsh and severe treatment ot help* 
Ic-ss and unarmed prisoners v. hen all idea of escape wa3 
• at an end. ^ - 

Under these impressions we used every endeavor tbf '^^ 
r.siertaln if there was the least prospect of identifying 
ariy of the soldiers, who l.ad bCen guilty of the particular 
outrages here alluded to, or of tracing any particulaf 
death, at that time, to the firing of any particular indi- 
vidual, but without success ;'ar.d all hope& of bringinjj;^ 
the offenders to punishment should seem to be at an end. , -*a 

In conclusion, we, the undersigned, have only to add, . 
ihat whilst we lament, as we do most deeply, the unfor- 
tunate transaction ,which has been the subject of thi»% 
inquiry, we find ourselves totally unable to suggest any^ 
,iitep^ to be taken as to those pirts of it which seeia, 
most to cull fur redress and punisliment. 

(bitgr.cd) CHAS. KING, ' .v.i.' 

FRAS. SEYMOUR LARPENt*- 'l^'^ 
• ■ Plymouth, Sf.f/fc J/irif, 1811/ :jj^^:' 

5in— -In pursuarce of instructlcns received from.")' '' 
"Mcssis. Clay and Gi.iiatin, I have novv' the honor to trans^-^-^. . v 
mit to you the report pre pared by Mr. L:\rpent and my->'f' k 
sell", on behalf of our resp( ctive governments, in rtIatiof> >-;, 
to the unfortunate transactions at Da' tmoor prison of i 
vvar, on the 6th of the present month. Considering it f 
■ of much impoi'iaixc that tlic i*^['Oit, v,hr.tev2^ it iVJ.gbt I 






"■W^fii 



f c7 r 




T ' ' be, ehouM go forth limler mm jonK signature?, t bavc 

l^ forborije to press some ci ilie points which it involves, 

.) as far as otherwise I niit;ht liavc done, and it therefore 

i niay not he in'\)rcpcr in this letter to enter inio so;nc 

V * ' txplnraiion oi such pins of the report. Aklioui^h it 
'fw i-i. docs appear tliat a part of the prisoners were on that 
/ evening in such ft statCi and under such circumstances, 

!'if ' .,^* *o J^*^'^ justified, in the view which the commander 
f I* ' i>f the dc;p«it could not but laUe of it, the intcrvrntioii 
Ji'v^. *, * 'If the military foice, and even in a strict sense, tlic 
" t ^•.:' first U3C of fire arms, yet I cannot but express n^y scl- 

ij>'>* - \>tlcd » pinion, that by conOuct a little more temporising, 
■* I this dreadful nlicrnative of firinp: <ipon unarmed piison- 

^^\ « ^'^ might ha\c been hft'oided. Yet as tliis opinion has 

Ik I ^ '" t>ccn the result of subsequent examination, and after 
j}. h(^'^j*^ ijaving acquired aknowlcdi^c of the comparaiively havm- 
^j^' 1 " " 'less slate of the prisoners, it may be but fair to consi- 
*' ' i s '^^<^r, wjiclhcr in such a momcni of confusion and alarm, 

, ^ '■ 'i^s that appears to have been, the officer commanding 

• >rould have fairly < stinuited his dang;cr, or have mcasur- 
y i .Ttd out Nviib precision the extent and nature of the force 

$>.'■, liccessary to |^uard agninst it. 

But wlicn the firing became general, as it afterwards 
'» I ' ' *9' ^Pr*^^^"^'^ ^^ Inivc done, and caught with electric rapidity 
f'f ' ' ;' fiom the square to the plaiforms,vtherc is no pica nor 

• shadow of excuse for it, e:cci pt in the personal exas- 
..peration of the soldiery, nor for the n)Oie deliberate, 

^ and therefore more unjustifiable, firing which took place 
|j ♦ * into three of the prisons, No. 1, 3 and 4, but more par- 
Ij ' . ticularly into No. S, aficr the prisoners had retired int6 
« them, and there was no longer any pretence of appre- 

I * tensions as to their escape Upon this ground, as yoti 

t-'' sir, will perceive by the report, Mr. Larpint and myself 

I *,5Si>^^^ no difierence of opinion, and I am fully persuaded 
4 ,/ , , ' ?*^%^^^ greater than his, at per- 

•ceiving how hopeless would be the attempt to trace to 
i V '■ * ^i^y individuals of the ^military these outnigecus pro- 
ceedings. 
« As to whether the order to fire came from captaip 

I Sl.ortland, I yet confes's myself unable to form any sa- ; 

j lisfactory opinion, though perhaps the bias of my minc^ 

'1^ ^s, that he did give such an order. But his anxiety anc|- 

y exertions to stop it, after it had continued son.e jiitlc' 

ttnie, are fully proved, and his general conduct prcvi- 
'<)ui5 to this occurrence, as far as we could with prDpricty i^ 



tr.tcrint6 such details, appears to liavbbeen'chafartcf-' 
iscd with p;rcat fairness, and even kiJidness, in the si- . 
tnation in which he stood towards the prisoners. ...V. 

On the subject of any complaints against their owa ^ ^'; ■ ' 
government cxistinj^ ainon[^ the prisoners, it was inva- 7.^.. • 
riahly answered t© several distinct qticstions put by mc ^"^Hl^ 
on that head, that none whatsoever existed or had been 



- ' ♦'.■, 



expressed i)y them, although they confessed tliemselves H-^-^. 
I0 entertain some animosity ap;ainst Mr. Bcash-y, to^ ^.^l 

hoi^j they attiibutcd their detention in this country;- vty.l.-n 
^v.ilh \v!iat justice you, sir, will be better able to judges'; V*^!^'!^.-^. 
They made no complaint whatso3ver, as to their provi- v>-^lS'** 
sions and general mode of living and trratmentin the ^''^•^''lf 
prison. • '« 

. 1 have transmitted to Mr. Reaslcy a' \ht ot the killed f^\^; 
-..and wounded on tliis • melancholy occasion,, with ft tp-- j'^- 
.jquest tl»at he Mould forward it to the United States for ? 'I 

the infoi mution of tiicir fiiends at honic. and I am plcaa- ..•:-.=.■;* vi' I 
cd to have it in my pov/er to say, that the wounded arc^.Tj.i'^fV' 
fcr the nicst part, doing well. " . -"' " " ^^ /" 

I have also enclosed to Mr. Bcaslcy the notes' taken 
by n\e of the evidence adduced before us, with a re* -^ M-\ 
j:|ucst that he would have them fairly copied, as also a^^ .r^'* 
(Copy of the depositions taken before the coroner, and - 

.flcsired him to submit them to you when in order. ^ 

I cannot coticlude, sir, without expressing my high * 
sense of the impartiality and manly firmness with which 
tlds enquiry has been conducted on the part of Mr. Larr . 
p«u, nor without mentioning that every facility was af-/'^ ,. ' ' 
forded to us in its prosecution, as well by the military ^ ^ 
officers commanding here and at the prison, as by tho ' 

.Tiiagistrates in the vicinity. ^'^--^-^^—^Vi^'S^ 

y I have the honor to be, with much respect, your niosf* 
"bbedient humble servant, -- >*:^ f| 

%• (Sl|vned) CHARLES. ;K1NG: / '^^ .- 

-/Its Lxcellcncij J. Q. ^dams, Is^c. fs'c* ' ' " ' V. 



i 



-"r' 



London, ISM .'(/in/, .1315. -;.5 
Sm— x\t the request of lord Castlei-^agh, we havo 
had interviews with him and Mr. Coulburn on the sub- 
ject of the transportation of the American prisoners how 
in this country, to the United States, and of the late un- ^'ih 

fortunate event at the depot at Dartmoor. 

On the first subject, we agreed to advise your accep- 
tance of the proposUioi\ oJ lordCaaUercagb to transpoi'V 



-■» 



169 1 

I 

the prisoners at the joint expense of the t^o countries, \ 
-reserving the construction of the articles of the trcatyj 
>vhich provides for the mutual restoration of prisoners, 
4^;jv ./or future adjustment. It Mas staled Ijy us, and was so 
^If. understood, that the joint expense, thus to be incurred, 
' .<^is to comprehend as well the requisite tonnaj^e as the 
* - subsistence of the prisoners; and moreover, that mea- 
'^r^;^-fflurcs of precaution should be adopted relative to the * 
'^.•:^,'^;.. health and comfort of the prisoners similar to those 
' 't>vW^^'^^ ^^^^ taken place in America. 

The details of this arrangement, if you concur, with 
Vv^'fJ* lis as to the expediency of making it, arc left to you to 
*ff?*'.^ settle with the proper British authority. 'V- 

' ■f\^^"?) On the other subject, as a statement of the transac- / 
-' J;; tion has been received from the American prisoners,' 

diffrrinp; very malerir.Uy in fact from that which had rc- 
.^•■it aulted from rn inquiry instituted by the port admiral, if 
./V?.^>r^ ^as been thou[;ht advisable that some means should be ^ 
[' i*p1V.^evised of procurinj^ information as to the real state 
of the case, in order on the one hand, to shew that there . 
^/ had not been any wanton or improper sacrifice of the 
lives of American citizens, or, on the other, to enable 
• the British government to punish their mihtary and ci- 
vil oflicers, if it should appear that thoy have resorted 
to measures of extreme severity withtiUt necessity, or 
v ^ith too miicli precipitation. 

Lord Castltreagh proposed that the enquiry should he 
•a joint one, conducted by a commissioner selected by 
«ach government. And we have thought such an enqui- 
ry most likely to produce an impartial and satisfactory - 
^Jesuit. 

We presume that you will hav« too much occupation < 
'on the first subject and the other incidental duties of 
your office, to attend to this enquiry in person On that 
supposition we have stated to the British i^overnmenl 
that we should recommend to you the selection of Chas. - 
King, esq. as a fit person to conduct it in behalf of the 
American government. — If Mr. King will undertake the 
business, he will forthwith proceed to Dartmoor, and in 
conjunction with the British commissioner, who may be 
appointed on the occasion, will examine the persons con- 
cerned, and suoh other evidence as may be thought ne» 
j, cessary, and make a joint report upon the facts of thff 

^ case to John Q. Adanr\s, esq. minister plenipotentiary of 



I 



■ 




1 

if 




> 





\. 



f ro y 



J 



the United Sutcs at this court and to the British gor^ 
'crnment. ^ ' 

The mode of executing; this service must b^ left W> 

the discietion of Mr. Kinc; afid his coUeslgue. If thef 

can agree upon a narrative of the facts after having 

I heard the evidence, it will be better than rej'orting fh« 

* whole mass of testimony in detail, which they may pef 

I haps find it necessary to do, il they cannot come to suqH 

an agrtenieLt. ^v'^ 

We are, sir, 
Your obedient humble servauts^ - , 
^ H. CLAY, ^ '■ i^'':;: • 

ALBERT GALLATlK:*'y.;r 
Ji. G. Bcaslcy^ esq. ^c. b^c. * ;*-^'"a* 






v^i.. 



(Sign 



«/) 



Lint of Pristncra ivounded on (he rvemng tif tht^^th> 

Jfiril^ 1815. -^ ' ^'^ '*'^' '■' 

Thomas Smith, amputated thigh. ^. 

Philip Ford, punctured wound of the back, and pUUC- ; 
tUred wound of the belly. ^^T 

John Gray, amputated arm. ' , ; 

Robert Willet Tawney, amputated thigh. 

James Bell, bayonet wound of the thigh. 

Thomas Truely, guii-sliot wound through the thigh* 
and testicle. The ball entered the hip, and passed out 
at the forepart of the thigh, and through the testicle. 

William Leversage, lacerated hand and amputated 
thumb. 

Joseph Bczeck, alias Musick, gun shot wound of tH^ 
4high, thioui^h which the ball passed, 

Jolm Willet, black, fractured jaw, lacerated hip%^ 
complicated with a shattered state of the upper jaw. 
\ James Esdell, gun-shot wound of the hip. 

Henry Montcalm, gun-shot wound of the left knee. 

Frederick Howard, gun-ghot wound of the leg through 
which the ball passed. 

William Penn, black, guft-shot wound <)f the thigh. 

Robert Fittez, gun-shot wound of the penis. 

Cornelius: Garrison, gun-shot Wound of the thigh, the 
tall passel through the limb. ^':'-' ■'^■■.[^.'y 

Edward Wlttlcbanks, bayonet wound of the back, prctr^' 
ilucing paralysis of the sphenesters am ^t<iHtr^y wkni' 
paralysis of the lower extremities. 
. lames Turnbuiy amputat^^d ar;ri.*' 



/•>?■' 



ik\ 



C "3, / 

■ ■felcphcn I*hipp5, bayonet wounds of the Abdomen an^ 
iVigh. '' . 

' James Wells, gUtH-sliot fi\icturc of the sarnim and ens- 
tt ilie, and gun-shot fracture of both bones of the left 
-arm. 

. Caleb Codding, gun-s!ict wound of the ]e^. 
Edward Gardner, gun-shot fracture of the left arm. 
•V V Jacob Daris, jr\in-shot wound of the thigh, the ball 
V repassed throun;h the thigh. 
y.^.s John Hopjabets, gun-shot wound of the hip. 
#*f? Peter \Vilson> gun-shot fracture of the hand, the ball 
^A;i. Passed through the palm of the hand. 
¥v'; j John Perry, gun-snot wound of the shoulder. 
" ii{^H "■ John Peach, gun-shot wound of tlie thigh, the ball 
* . l>^ssed throuj^h tlic thigh. 

John Roberts, black, g"\m-shot wound of the thigh. 
John Gair,^amputat«d thigh. 
; ,' '" Ephraim L^i^roln, gun-shot wound of the kncC, dis- 
■:3^-'^V-C^arged 23d ApVil, 1815. --"v 

, John Wilson, baj'onct- wound, discharged, cured 18th 

April, 1815. ' 

.■j^^ William Blake, bayonet-wound, discharged, cured 12th 

April, 1815. 

Thomas JacJcsor, black, gun-shot wound of the abdo- 
men. He died early in the morning of the 7th.* 

James Campbell, guTi-sliot fracture, with depression tjf 
7 " Hhc whole of the frontal bone, orbital ridL':c and nasal 
bones, uq died on the morning of the 8th* 

(Signed) GEORGE MAGRATH. 

Descrijidon of Death-iiwiinds inJlictcH on ffic cvrnin^ C^ 

the er/; jS/iri-l^ 1815. 
." John Haywood, black, the ball entered ia little posterior 

•to the acromion.of tlie left shoulder, and passing oblique- 
ly upwards, made about the middle of the right side its 
egress of the neck. ^ 

Thomas Jackson, the btll entered the left side of the ,5 
'l>elly, nearjy in a line with tiie naval, and made Its egresa -^ 
'a little below the false ribs in the opposite side, a large ?5 
portion of the intestinal canal protruded through the 
wotfid made by the ingress of the ball. He languished 
Until 8 o'clock of the 7th, when he died. 

John Washing, the ball entered at the squamore pro- • 
cess of the left temporal bone, and passing through the • 

• T^ese names art indutkJ in rAe tkti if dratii. 



;*Vi 



r " J 

bead, wade at3 c^it a liule below the cruccal ridge of 

the occipital bone. 

James Matui, the ball cnlcrerl at the inferior angle uf 
the left scapula, and lodged under the integ^umcnt of 
the right pectoral muscle. In its coarse it passed through' 
the inferior margin of the right a6d Idfi lobes of tho ^4*' 
lun^s. ' '^ 

Joseph Tokcr Johnson, the ball entered at the inferior 
angle of the left scapula, penetrated the heart and pass- "^ 
ing throufjh both lobes of the lungs made itJ egress at '-''>. 
thr right a'^illa. 

William Levcrsajj^e, the ball entered about the middle 
of the left arm, through which it passel, and p'^netrat- i' 
ing the corresponding side, betwixt the second and third 
ribs, passing throu-^h the left lobe of the luiigs, the mc- ' '^ 
ilinrteuum, and over the right lobe, and lodged betwixt 
the Tth and ' th ribs. 

James Campbell, the ball entered at the outel* anrlo , 
of the right eye, and in its course it fractured and dr- ■ ::*'^ 
pressed the greater pa.rt of the frontal bono, fractured!, 
the nasil bones, and made its e5i;;ress above the orbital.' \-.'r 
ridge of the left eye. He lanp;uished until the morning "T^J^ 
of tho 8th, when he died. .' ^ 

(Signed) GKOR<'iE MAGRATH. 

On publishing tliis document, the editor of tiie (Phi- 
!a-lclphia) Dcmocraiic Pre^s has the followini^ note—*" 
*' Tlie numbers given in this list are considerably iewef 
than those reported by the committee of prisoners who - 
investigated that affair. This is easily accounted for by 
a fair presumption, that the perpetrator, captain Short- 
land, did not think the mischief of a slight wound to an 
American worth noticing. It will not escape notice that 
as matter of apolo,f);y or vindication for this cruel slaugh- 
ter, Shortland, at the head of the return, avers that the % ' 
Am'^rican prisoners had madt '* aa attempt to force the 
military cjuard," an averment discredited on oath by ma-*? 
ny Americans and by all the testimony yet adduced " 

We would also call the attention of oUr readers to a^ 
consideration of this fact — that of the thirty-ttiree re*' 
turned as kilkd or wounded, fourtekn are acknow'^ 
tedj^ed to have been im/iressed Jmcfican seamen. Onlf 
ihiok on that! — imft^essed mm 7nadr puiicvers— -//n- 
saners MASSACRED. Magnanimous Eni^1ishm< n ! ! 
While British J\jbjccts that came among us of their owa 



- . -- -----1 

I. I n } M 

r . ^ 

free A^iii, >v^tcr^slding in our cities and cartyitvg on their' 
'^ busine^ immolcstcd, if they demeaned themselves with 
common Mecency (as many of tl)cm did not) our ifnfor- 
lunaie countrymen, whn got into the power of the enc- 
I ■ my by an infernal outrage before the war, were wasting 

'- 'W Jt out their lives in the famous prisons at Dartmoor I— 
?v' -f^ Ihe histor>' of the world presents us with no parallel 
(j atrocity. Ju«iticc, common justice would have caused the 

f impressed seamen to have been paid wages for the ser-^ 

vices they had performed, and then to have landed thcni 
[•'^ on the, shores of their own country. It was vile, vild 

indeed, tc make f\rUoncr» of auch persons. No other 
\ww^r than that of Algiers, &c. would do this thing. 



[ *-■>■, 



From the ^''ationel jtdvoeatc. 



. »" 






•TT* 



i^h fkeWatifnoor Mafsacre^ in irfity t9 'Messrs. iCinff \ 

and LarfienVs Eefxort, 

To the People of the TnUcd Slatrs. 

leaving perused with attention, tlie report of Mr. 
Chas. >ving and Francis Seymore Larpent, on their ex- 
amination of the unfortunate occurrence at Dartmoor, 
'on tlic ^tb of April last— • 

We, the undersigned, being there at tlie time this vin- 
^rtunate occurrence took place, deem \t a duty we owe 
to the surviving sufferers of that bloody transaction, to 
bur fellow-citizens and ourselves, to make some remark* 
upon such a singular report. Although we presume 
the door is forever closed against any further investiga- 
tion of that ever-to-be remembered transaction, wc can- 
hot help> hoWever contrary it may be t© our wishes to 
irritate the public feeling, already so much excited, of • 
Entering into a detailed investigation of that report. <^\ 

In the committee's address to the public on the 27th ' 
of last June, preceding the publication of the afiidavits 
of some of the prisoners, taken on that melancholy af- 
fair, they have justly anticipated what would be the re- 
port of the commissioners sfter their investigation.— 
They drew their conclusions from the singular nianper 
in which the investigation was conducted. The report 
commences by stating, that, after having carefully p<J- 



t 



C T'-i 3 



JiscU (he prc>tcedinc!;s of the several courts oF inqtili*y, > 
insutulrd imnictliatcly after that event, they proceeded 
Immediately to the examination, upofl oath, of all the, ^ 
vitncsf.cs, both American and English, who offered them- 
selves fortliat purpose. How far this part of the report ^ 
is correct, wc shaW leave the public to judge. . , 

On the arrival of the commissioners at the depot, the* 
committee of the prison was sent tor ; after waiting isome ^.^ 
time at the door of the room where the inquiry was^/:^ ;^ 
held, tiit^wcre called in separately, and questioned as ;.^,i^^ 
to their knowledge of the transactions of the f>ih The -. ' 
»tci)osiiionft of ihrisd vhnl were cyts-wiinehhru* of, M.m difi- 
^Maccful scene were taken ; some were questioned as i- 
to tb.c i;enrral conduct of Shortland, previous to that af-;HV. 
lair; it was represented by them as it would have U^cnr^ . r/ . 
by all, as bcino: universally cruel, tjverbcarinp; and op- 7^. , 
]f)ressive After having finished the examination^ of tl^r -.^S^ 
committee, they requested them to brini^ forward a^ the "^ ' ^ 
evidence tliat was likely to cast any lir;iit on thcsiibjet ? 

of inquiry They accordingly returned into the prison, 
:\vA drew \ip a list of the names of some of those who .^, 
were eye-witnesses of that day's occurrence, Alth(jugh 
Ihey could have brought hundreds to the examination, - 
nnd the sum of whose evidence would have amounted 
to the same thing, yet the committee .not wishing to im- 
pede the progress of the investigation by a rotundity of ^ 
evidence, they were careful to select such men as were^A: ' 
most likely to give a clear and distinct account of all 
the circumstances as th-ey occurred, under their know- "^ 
lcdi;e, taking care at the same lime, to procure those ^ 
whose different situations afforded them an oppoitunity - 
of witnessing that transaction, from the commencement^!: ', . 
to the close Such was the evidence the committee had ^ J- 
-sclecfcd, to the number of about fifty, very few of whom 1 
"were ever examined, although thCy were kept in wait-:]f • 
^ig on the turnkey's lodge (where tlicy were ordered to . 
•stay until called for) during the hours of investigation. » 
In tlic cf)\irsc of the enquiry, it seem-s, the commission- 
•crs found it necessary to survey the particular situation ^^ 
of the prisoners, and the points from which the differ- • 
cnt attacks were made; they accordingly came into the 
yard for that purpose, and after having been shown all,, 
the pliccs from whence the firing was continued, where- 
the crowd of prisoners had assembled on the first alarm,' '. 
^nd where the hole, so much made a handle ef, had been 



itiadc— after a slight survey of th«sQ mlTerent pKuca, 
they retir<»d into their session room, leaving: ordrra nnce ^ 
^\ . • fnore wit!i the committee to hoUi their evidence in rca- 
dim ss, ^3 they would soon be c;\lied iij)on for examina- 
tion. The committee replied that t!*ey had bten in rea- 
\ diness since the commencement oT the incjuiry, iful wero 
^ft^. then only waitinj^ their orders to appcf^r before tiictn, 
"^'^ " feeling happy in the idea of hwini^ it in their p.wc.r to 
^■^,, shew to the court, and to the world, by the evidence they 
had to produce, that the attJlck of Shortland on the de- ; 
f''c,yu<44 prisoners, was premeditated, and unjustifialdc ' 
^_, o ^^ ^^y P'^'nt of view. , 

^^^Jft^\ After attending: in the turnkey's lod^e diirinp; the sit-( 
,>s*/'jl?.',;a' Vii*i^^ of the cdm'nissioners, until the middle of t lit* third 
-;" day, wiihont hiving but very few of the evidences srnt 
'^■^!yi»i; -^^y 3"d beiM^ f'.arful that they mit^ht be wai'iiii; for 
..-;;«^,.% /^ Lherti, the e^ sent them woi'd that the \vi;ii(':isc3 

■^i'-A^^'vcve still In attcn(lan':e. No answer beii^n- reun-t>e(i to . 
'V^S>;; t-thjs messa^f^ for son^e time, tiic committee h^-camc un-';^ 
f y%*/. '•^5'^asy o;i accuntof the loni^ examination of t!»c oincerSj 
soldiers, r'erks, and Mirtikeys, attached to the depot, with- 
out admitttn.f. the prisf)ner'j to an eqiuil privilct^e ; and 
U'iderstandinp: the commissioners were aboru, closings 
« their inqnir.-, they a<:!;ain sent word tliey would be i^!ad 
,^ to have an ii terview for a few moments, for the purpose 
. of exp'ain'nip; the nature of thei • evidcficc, and the ne- 
cessity ol a full hearinp; on both sides of the ((urstion. : 
No answer bcine: returned to this jeqiicst, and still wait- 
er ini^ with the anxious hope that they would soon send 
for some of us, M'henT^'e were told, by one of tl c tuin- 
kevs, that the commissioners were jiiTpaiing to depart, 
having finished the examination. Astonished to think ,j 
they meant to leave the depot without clearly invesli- 
" gatirtp^ the circumstances that were the cause of their, 
• meetincj, and feelint^ indij^nant that a cause of so much 
importance should bo passed over so partially, the com- 
tnittee addressed a note to Mr. Kint^, bercg;int^- him not 
to shut the door of communication against the prisoners, 
bv closing; the inquiry without giving them the privilege 
of a hearing, as the greatest part of our witnesses were 
yet unexamined, and their evidence they conceived to 
be of the utmost importance to the investigation. No 
rcp.y was made to this note ; but, in a few moments, we 
wore told that the ^)mmission"ri, had left the depot. 
How far they are justifiable in saying they examined aU 



^.**! 



t '6 3 



-V' 



t."hc cvklences tlu\t offered ihcmselves, wc think- i» suijfc' 
cicntly sIie\Vn. 

The commissioners next j»p on to mention the insur- 
rection of tbe prisoners about the bread on the 4th, two 
(Jays previous to the events, the subject of that inquiry, 
Althouc^h the report correctly states the prisoners quiet- 
ly returned to their own yards after their demands hav- : 
ing been complied with, yet Mr. King forg^ot to mention 
that it was clearly represented to hijTi, had the prisoners, 
been so diaposed on that night they could have easily - 
made their esc^ape. Although that transacticn bad nof 
thiiif^ to do, a^ relates to the prisoners,, with the cvcntu 
! of the 6th, we merely represent this circumstance td 
show, that there was ro intention whatever on their pai i. 
to break out of the prison, as Shortland and his adhe- 
rents have attempted to prove. 

The report now goes on to mention, that on the evcft' ;*^ 
•ihg of the 6th of April, about six o'clock in the eveninp; 
a hole was made in one of tlie walls of tlie pVison suffi- 
cient for a full-sized jnan to pass, and others had been - 
commciiced but never completed, and that a number of 
the prisoners were over the railinr; erected to prevent 
them from commimicalinn: with the ccntincls on the 
walls, and that they were tearing up pieces of turf, and ■ ^ 
wantonly pelting eac i other in a noisy manner. 

As to the hole made in the wall, wc believe the caus- ■* 
cs and reasons have been already sutTlciently explained 
by the affidavits laid before the public. With respect " 
to tlic prisoners being between the iron paling and the 
wall, could have been, if it v/as not easily e:^'plained to 
Mr. King, had ho given an opportunity. It seems, that 
on the afternoon of tl»e 6th, some of the prisoners having 
obtained leave of the sentinels on the walls to go over 
and lie upon the grass; others seeing them lying so 
much at their ease went over to cnjo^ the same privi* 
lege; and as the sentinels made no objection to this 
proceeding, the number was soon increased to Such a 
degree that it became no longtr an enjoyment to those 
who first obtained the privilege ; some scuffling then en- 
sued among themselves, and they began to pelt each 
other with turf and old shoes, principally in play, and 
among so many, no doubt, there must have been consi- ; 
derable noise ; hut how they can possibly connect this 
circumstance with the hole in the wall is entirely out of 
^♦Jir power fy conceive, as the iron raii^iig separa«.ctl 



i... 
•^% 



■A- 
:< T 



1 



A [ 77 3 

»■ .them from the pretended breach in the wall, and distant. 

from it ^^.o^e than half the Icnf^'.li of the yard ; of course, 

4^'' Jiad the hole been intended as a breach, the iion paling 

S'^;' *'d Srould have become a barrier instead of facilitating the 

means of an escape. 

V As to that, part of the rcpoit which mentions the 

guard barracks being the repository for the arms of the 

': ^ . ' guard ofl^ duty, and of its standing in the yard to which 

■ ''^^^the hole in the wall would serve as a communication, 

I 3fl?1— 2ind of .'ts being a further cause of suspicion and alarm 

^" '*' tocapt. *^<TiortIand ; to one acquainted witl) the situation 

bf the nr>son, such nn idea would l>e ridiculous, but to I 
,^ those w'fio are not acquainted with it, it will be only nc- I 

';■ ressary for us to mejUion, that if the prisoners had the/. 

•S^ intention' of brcakingout through this passae;c, and had 

actually got into the barrack yard, the diPiicullics they 
^^^ would then have to encounter woiild be much greater 
■■**.* '^than to break, a passaf^c through the market bquarc, or 
i^^^^^%^-' '*he back part of the yard As to.the idea of tl.eir pos- 
• -;.^i??V.6essing themselves of the muskets atandinc; in the racks 
-4-^' in the guard barracks (even if they knew of any being 
^t'' l'*^^ , there) is childish.; for how easy would it liave been folK 
'' - >- the commanding cfiicer, on the shortest intimation of 
' such an attempt, with 04ie blast of his bugle, to have cill- 
^ ^d all his guards to the spot) before a hundredth part of 
. > the prisoners- could have got into the yard, and by that 
m-eans instantly put a stop to any further proceedings on 
their part. 

- We cannot conceive how Mr. King can possibly comer 
•forward and say, on these grounds it appeared to him, 
thatcapt. Shortland was justified in giving the order for \. 
;^' sounding the alarm-bell, when, if he found the prison- 

Si ers were conducting themselves improperly, had he sent 

for the committee (as always i>ad been his custom herc- 
£^ toforc, when he had any charge against the prisoners for 

^ improper conduct) ai-d told them that the prisoners were 

breaking the wall (which circumstance, ^s has been pub- 
lished before, was not known to one-tenth of the prison- 
ers) and recjuested them to hav^ represented to ihosc 
enga.ed in it the consequence that must ensue if they 
* pf-rsisttd in suci> conduct, wc have not a mou^ont's hesi- 

tation in saying, tliey would have put a stop to any fur- 
ther r)ro(:crdiners of that kind, 

, Ti'..a part whicli relates o the breaking of the iron 
-^ c.hain \yhich fastened No. gate, and follows next in tbc> 

G 2 



1 r8 3 

report, sftys, there M-as no evidence to show whether !t * 
^vas done before or aficr the alarm-bell rang. As this 
was a in?.terial point on which ihey grounded bhortland's 
jTibli.Scalion, we ))avc to receipt that the evidence we. had v 
10 lay bclorc the coiTinnssioneis, and which would, in / 

Ii vMv opinion, have sufficiertly cleared up that point, was / 
r^ot e>:an.2ncd. ., ;\.,.. 

Oi\ the ringinj; of the alarm-bell, the rush towards the , 
^ ^atcr, leading into the market- squaae was so nreat (at- ^ — 
f traotcd as has been before stated by-curiosity) tl^at thos^ ^'^^ 
L ill fror.t M^rrp irresistibly pushed forward by these '-n. the ^ 
, \ n-?^)', aid if the chain tjad not hiolte, the lock ni j.'t.havd 
'|v|;i>on way to the pressure, and by this opening, it Is but 
nniuvnl to sMppose, thatjji number nutst have been shov- 
*i;.d int') llic Sf^naro in front of the soldiers, t\hQ were*' " .. 
iV.i'.yn up In .\ liac across the sfpjarc, with Shortland at 
their he-jci. * - ;> , 

If, ?:^ <l'.e report tiow gees on to stiite, there was lio 
direct proof before them of it previous concert or pre- ■.:^' 
parLiiion on the pait of the priboners, anc'i no evidence .v. 
of their intention or disposition to ctrcct their escape on 
tliis occa^.ion, <:xceptin^^- that v.hich arose by inference ; 
from the whole of the detailed circuiustances connected 
together, had Mr. King exan»ined the evidence on the 
part of the prisoners as minutely as it seems he exa-: 
juincd those on the part of Shortland, he could not even r 
h?vc drawn the shadow of an inference of that beings ' 
r^ their intention. 

. . J^here the commissioners got their evidence for as- 
/^t^rting that captain Shortland, by quiet means and per- 
fuabion, endeavored to persuade the prisoners to retire 
into llieir respective yards, is unaccountable to us, as 
tJioso who know capt. Shortland, know he is not a man 
of persuasion. It is correct that Doctor M'Grath used 
every exertion to persuade the prisoners to retire out of 
the square, which, if Shortland had allowed sufficient 
time, would have been cftiietly dojie — but the crowd, by 
this time, had got so great, and the pressure in the reai* 
so strong, that those in front could not retreat until timo 
should be allowed for the rear to fall back; but the hasty^ 
haughty, and overbearing temper of Shortland could not 
allow him to use such conciliatory means. He orders 
Abe report says) fifteen file of the guard fronting the 
oj5cn gate, to the charge j and after some little time the 
charge wrs so far cfTcttual, with but vtry liillg or no in* 



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^ " ^ ^^lty to the prisoners, as to drive ihcm, fof the most pan. 
nqiiiic out of" the square, with the exception of a small 
'; * .jjumber who continued theii- resistance about No^i gtte*. 
• t- iUudcr. these circumstances, continu.es the report, the 
£jing commenced. 

Here we beg leave to request an attentive pertisal of 

'^ the aflidavits of some of the prisoners, takon by the com- . 

,.mittee, and which relate particularly to this part of the 

:V,^r<ransaction. It is there positively stated, thp.t on the 

vicf"&"^^^ coming to a charge the prisoners all retreated 

^*?-^^'*'^ '■' into the yard and pushed the gate to after them. If the 

coinnfihH >ncr8 l»ad examined that evidence, thin part of / 
V-H their report ought to have been differently expressed. ) 

^Ve cannot conctMve how Mr. King finds it difficult to" 

^ ' /econcile the testimony respecting capt Shortland's giv* 

ing the order to fire, when he reports that several of ih6 

. - An.cricans swear /lOsitivtly that capt. Shortland t^avc that 

. ■j.:i/rder — and many of the soldiers and the English wit- 

^'/■'■*_v^" "nesE^s heard the word given by son^e One, but Vrould:^ 

not swear it was by capt. Shortland ; and some (amonc^ 

f^^rv^;..;^ Hvhom is the «f!icer corximanding the guard) thinks if 

^'^^'Tv« xiapt. Shortland had given such an order, they must have 

if- heard it, which they did not. Thus, then, stands the 

^ . foundation lor this part of the report. An English of- 

iicer thinks it is not so, and several Americans swear it 

is so ; and he finds it very difficult to reconcile their 

tostimony. The lightness with which they seem lohavo 

passed over this most important point of that day's 

"^ r transaction, cannot but be deeply regretted by those who 

V; Jet\ for the unhappy sufferers, when they go on to state, 

'^ife. '*It may remain a matter of doubt whether the firing 

''_first began in the square by order^ or was a spontaneous 

act of the soldiers themselves; it seemed clear it was 

continued and renewed, both there and elsewhere, with- 

out orders — and that on the platforms and in several 

\ places about the prison it was certainly commenced 'k'/M- 

x>ut any authority,^' We must once more request the 

f* ' attention of the public to the affidavits already publish- 

j ed; it is there sworn by one of the witnesses, that t^fe- 

vioua to the alarm-bell being rung, aid while walking 

in the yard, a soldier called to him from the walls, and 

told him to go in as they would soon be fired upon. How, 

^ then, can it be possible, that a soldier on the walls should 

know that they would be fired up'on, if the order had 

^i*,, : ^- not been previously given to that «ffcct ? and had the 



y 



tihrlcuian hoei) examined, l.c could have staled, tlicit^rc- 
vitui-^ to Uie ri'jpjing o( the aiariiiibtllj lie icceived or 
dcis io sound to ^ic;bo ihaf, whcir the soldiers took 
tlicir stations on the walls they charged aad prepared 
for that purpose. VVitli such information atc ton ceivc 
.the coinniiltce to stand fudy justified in:&ta[tinc; in their 
report, the l)rlief of its being a";pre'Con6eTted plan, on S^ 
the part of Shonland ; and if the commissioners had pos» 
sesscd themselves with a knowledf^c of these civcwm- 
stances, which they could and ouylit.to have done, would j.^'^-^ 
thty have reported Shortland as justifiable, even in. a!;"' ?, 
iiiililary point of view? ^ " •. - * -t. '^ , 

I. The next thinr^ v.'c have to .notice,*1n the -VfSport iSf 
,t1iat very sinp,ular paragraph, which says, "fiom the - 
..facts ol the crowd's being so close, and the;4irii.g at" Y.,, 
,/jrsf^ being attended with very little vjury, it appears 
jii'obablc, that a large proportion of the muskets, were, ^.^ 
as stated by one or two of the witnesses, levelled over 
the beads of the piisoricrs, a circumstance, in some ^ 

respects to be lamented." Is it, then, to be lamcntcdy ^ „.,-•:' 
tliat the soldiers did not level their pieces, on \}\q Jirst":*^^^'- 
fire, directly into the crowd, which they have stated tD 1 . , * 
be so great and so close, that a soldier declarc.d', he; j 1 r\. 
could not come fairly down to a charge ? or is it to be ? V 
/a;;u77/'ff/, that one or two hundred were not killed ati'^V^ 
the first discharge, and a thousand or two wounded ? it j^ '%' 
so, we think it much to be laincntfd that the reporters | ■ - - 
were not there, xmd placed foremost in the crowd. f ' ' ' %' 
The. circumstance of so few being hurt by the first 'a 
discharge is not stiange to those who arc acquainted J 
witli the situali(>n ; and this occurrence alone coirobo-af'' 
ran^s the Ameiican evidence, and ought 'O have been "^ . 
siil^cient proof to the commissioners th^t the prisoners^ 
oli being charged upon retreated through the gates afid 
shut them after them before ihe firing commenced; and 
whxh circumstance alone, should have sluit the door of 
justification af^ainst Shortland for commencing a fire 
upon ttienj, as thty were in their own yards. As this 
was the actual situation of the priso.icr^, on the first 
discharj^e, and the soldiers having to fire through the 
iron paling, and the prisoners i-etrralint: on a- descend-* 
ing ground,of course brought the muskets, wh' n down to ^ 
a It-vtl. ov{ r the htuds ol the prisoners — it v*a.s owing 
to \\\\^ Jot Lunati: circuniSvance the»t so few wer^ inju.cd 
on the first <!ibch>irgc of ttrt muskt-try : unci it sctm»'. 



r 



f 61 .\ 



theioftuman Shortland was aware of this cifcumsfance^. 
\vhcn he was distinctly hearti to order the soldiers to Arc 
low. This does not appear to correspond with the first 
part of their report which says, *' capt. Shortland was in 
the mark f;t square exerting himself in giving orders to 
'5top ihc Pring." 

That there was atiy provocation given to the soldiers 

to justify their subsequent brutal conduct, the commis- 

.. signers themselves seem to find it very difficult to trace 

"i/'x'any evidence, although they say it appears, that there 

\vas somo resistance made to the turnkeys in siiuttinjj 

^^ .'^the prison, and that stones were thrown at the n»ilitary. 

Had they eXAmined the firisoncrs sufficiently tiir^y would 

have bc^n convinced that no resistance was made to the 

turnkeys in shutting the doors. As to throwing Gtonca 

at the military while they were chasing them from cor«- 

.' Dcrto corner, and firing at them in every place where 

; .:TTiey had taken shelter from the balls, could it be c?s* 

^"'^r^Kpecled but they would seize on something for oelf- 

.-sss^Tji defence when they saw the soldiers r>mniiig at them 

, •; with their bayonets, and having r.o poss'ible means of 

escape, as it has been before stated, all the doors in the 

prisons had been previously closed except one, and that 

. one, perhaps the length of tiie prison from him. Is there 

a man in such a situation but would seize on the first 

; weapon that offered itself, and sell his life as dear a3 

possible. How can they then make that the slightest 

') Jusiification for such outrageous conduct on the purt of 

' Shortland or the militaiy ? 

As to most of the officers being absent when the sol- 
diers came into the yard, is erroneous ; it could have 
been proved that there was an officer in every yard, anrt 
in one instance where he was heard to give the order td 
fire on a party oT prisoneis close by the door, and ruu- 
ning and making every exertion to enter the prison. 

As to captain Shortland being busy in the square with 
the turnkeys, receiving and taking care of the wounded, 
•certainly shews the commissioners* want of correct in- 
formation, for it is already before the public in affidavit* • 
the cruel manner in Avhicli the wounded were treated by 
him, and of his abuse to the prisoners who were bearing 

tthe wounded to the hospital gate. That par: of the re- 
port which relates, that the time ard commencement of 
this tiausaction was the ©fficers' dinner hour, is too ri- 
diculous for a corament. We do not believe tiat there 



. 4 



,r 82 '\ 

^va3 a \)nioner in the depot tli:it knew when or'whcre- 
the officers dhud, and thcrefor<i, there can be no ground 
lor an argument, that the prisoners- uefi6 taking thiVop* 
porHmity to escape. • "*<^<l>^ '.-ur, ■ 

The report then goes on to state," the cVOss-fire uhich 
vas taken iipfi'om several of the platforms o the walls 
round the prison, and diretcted aj^ainst stra-vTi^ling par- 
tics of prisoners running about the yard, enueavqrinvj; 
to enter ilie prison by the door which the tu'i^kcj^^ had .>* ' 
left, open, according to their usual practice. ac/=?.v fieem to >. 
lipve been without object or excuse, and to Irav .been 4 
wanton attack upon, the lives of dcfencclL^a, and at tlie -^ ^ 
same time, unonendin?^ individuals.'* In answer tM this -n 
parar^r.i]^]i we shall only reply — had the comm;;.i:i. "'^^^wJ 
examined all the American evidence, and atfacb?(^'>Cbe^ 
same credit to it wliich, it appears, they have done to r'^ ^^ 
the Knglish evidence, similar expressions would livd\ / 
been made use of a^ijainst Shortland's conduct throughi'vi>f , 
out the whole of their report. 

It appears tons, after an attentive examination of this -g^"; 
report, that tlie com!*nissioners mean to justify bhort* 
Jand in commencing his murderous attack upon the pri*- 
soncts, and to condemn the soldiers for continuing it. . 
SiiiLular as this idea appears it is no less strange t'» us 
-hou it can be possible they could reconcile it to tbt ir ^ 
feelings to make up a re port containing such, a direct :^^ 
contradiction to icason ; for surely if Sl«ortlaiul cou.d be *• 
justified in using coercive measures in ttic first ilistance, 
the military ceitainly should be acquitted for the sub- 
sequent massa-'.rc, as th'^ whole was conducted under " 
. his immediate command; and if he had a right \o kill 
/one, on the sanic groUTid he might have extended it to 
u t^f.'usand. And, on the other hand, if an^' part of the 
triMisaclion is to be condemned, Shnrtland should h6 
made to answer for the whole; for av hat necessity could ..^ ^ 
rlu'vc be to attcnip*^ ideniiiymg any of the soldiers? ' 
Sor.'ly the commissioners could not think of bringing 
them to punishment when they acted by the direct orders 
cf JS'uMtlar.d and his (fficers ? And if any" one could or 
ought to be made to answer for the outrage, Simrtland , 
ong'.t to be tlic first. * * _ 

in addition to the contradir-.ions contaii>edin tlie corn- 'i 
mi?-sioners' joint report, Mr, King, in* his I-lter to hiS 
excenency J. Q. Adar,,:^, jxluost tlcnies tne nrou* (^ on . 
which lliey h%ve, in part, fot^ded Shortland'* justified-' ^^ 



[ fi3 3 






'^ 



tlbn, when he says (alluding to havinj^ heard several A- 
mericans swear fiositively that Shorllard did p:ivc the 
order to fire, and an ofliccr of the j^viavo tfiinkn if he 
hadS»r should have heard him) "pcrliaps the A/a* of my 
mind .was, that Shortland did i^ive that order; but, wish- 
inj; the rt port to go forth vmder joint f ignatures, I for- 
bore to \r ess some of the points which it involves, so 
far as otherwise 1 might have done." 

li, fhen, an^parthas been neglected, or passed over, 
forVcr'omir.C'datior, or any other purnose (and one there 
certaii^ly\'.'Si in not paying the same attention to the 
'Am< I'icaii as was done to the English evidence) it is to 
Ijc rep;r''tied that Mr. King should so far forget or ne- 
glcc/. the sacred duties attached to the appoinnnont of 
^ai cr^ntirMsioner, to inqviire into the cause of the murder' 
< of 'hi3*>t:ountryrticn, as to pass over any p' ints w'l'ich 
/ I'igiit have b'-ought to light the means of punishment 
/■ fv> the murderers, or obtained in some measure an in- 
.^Aeinnity for the surviving unhappv and maimed suficr- 
•crs.. Will not the shades of the departed vir.tinis haimt 
him in his midnight slumbers, and, pointing to their la- 
cerated bodies, say, these still remain unrevengcd : Will 
not the unhappy survivors show the stumps of their am- 
putated limbs, and say, these wounds fcsier, and siill 
remain unatoned ? Will not the widow and the helpless 
orphan raise their innocent hands to heaven, and cry, 
why was justice deniexl us? Why was the heart so cal-^ 
lous to our sufff rngs ? And \yhy was the bosom shut td 
sympathy? Let Mr King point out {>ome means to pp- 
pease these bitter complaints, and we shall be satisfied. 

We shall now close these unpleasant remarks by no- 
ticing another unaccountable error in Mr. King's letter 
to Mr. Adams, where h^ m'bnti^ns, speaking of Short- 
land, "and his general conduct, previous io tlds occtir- 
rence, as far as I could with propriety enter into such 
details, ppcars to havo !)ccn characterised with great 
fairness and even kindness ir^ the rcla^iot\ in whicii he 
stood towards the prisoners.-'* "\Ve shall not pretend to 
ask Mr. King where he obtained the evidence on whicll 
he p-rounds this assertion ; wo are sure it was not from 
the prisoners, who ought to have been the best judges 
of that circumstance; but, instead of all, that, ad the 
Americans who were permitt'^d to exp'cs-i n opiniou 
on tluvt subject at the examination, declared, wit »out^ 
reserve, as would all the prisoners! in ftlie- depot had*. 



F 



• B^ 5 



th<rjr'bccn asked (he qncstion, that Shortland's t^ndtliij^* 
fron the commcnccTricnt of Iiis appointment to that sta- 
tion, had been cruris cfifiressive and overbearing ; and> 
instead of taVinfj measures to alleviate the disti'esses 
^f the ^v^ctchcd objects U!ider hinr, as a fcelinp: man' 
Vrould have done» he seemed to take ia pleasure in liar- 
rassinp; thcni Nivhenever hz could find the slightest ptC» 
text for doinpT so. 

'* Henry DolUvcrf 

n. IVeek.tf . , 

r/iilifi Black, ■ ^ 
■'^'^'/fomcr Hull, 
'^ -^M Z James M. Djf(h/iet<fi, 
i^'^f'fJofin Jones* 



n\ Colt en, 
Jo8(fih Swain, 
i/frch*d Taylor, 
^ibni. AI* Intyrd 
TVm Cochran, 
JDavid T/i^alls, 



Keubcn Sherman, "' ^'f^^ Wm. Damerell^ 
J^irh^d. I. Mackay^ ■ " •* Thomas Wdrd. 
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